The Path I Walk
by seedofsorrows
Summary: My name is Naruto Uzumaki, when I was five; a man killed my whole entire family. My one goal in life is to find and kill that man. From that day on, my life is meaningless unless Itachi Uchiha dies. Sakura and Dark Naruto.
1. Chapter 1

The Path I Walk

Chapter One

Yeah I know I'm putting this out a little early, but after chapter eleven people quit reading Five Star Seal as much, so the final chapters are coming a lot slower because of no inspiration, it sucks, but that's what a really evil plot twist can do to you. Bah, that's not what should be said here. I'm adding a lot of things that weren't in the actual manga, nor have I heard of anyone using anything similar to this story so I'm writing it. This story is going to be another dark Naruto fic, and I'm going to be throwing some sweet twists in it, but I want everyone to remember something about this story, guess what that is. THIS STORY IS ANGST!!!!!! Now, if anyone gets over halfway into it, and then gets pissed off at me because of a sick plot twist (Yes, there will be several, though none will be as bad as the one in Five) it's their fault and they know where they can stick it, and I know someone is going to do that, someone always does, they have been warned. But it can't be helped, so, on with the show.

I don't own Naruto, nor do I own any of the lyrics that will be present in this story, I say this only once per story, so pay attention.

Summary

My name is Naruto Uzumaki, when I was five; a man killed my whole entire family. My one goal in life is to find and kill that man. From that day on, my life is meaningless unless Itachi Uchiha dies.

Here we go, enjoy!

* * *

An old man sat at a park bench, staring up at the sky. he wore a black cloak wit a red and white fan adorning the back, and his once raven black hair had become a pure white, yet he still sat there, his coal black eyes sparkling with life. He was thinking of a time long ago, and one not so long ago when a friend and he used to sit on this very bench and watch their children play, now he sat on it alone, for his friend was gone, and had been for almost eight years.

"Hey, gramps, are ya still alive." Came a voice from his right, he looked down to see a boy who looked no older than seven sitting on the bench next to him. The boy had blonde hair with just a tinge of pink running through it; he had glacier blue eyes, and what appeared to be very faint whisker marks on his cheeks.

"Heh, I am young man, and might I ask your name, and the more important question of why you aren't playing with the other kids your age?" the old man said with a smile.

"My name's Naruto, I was named after my great-grandfather." The boy said with a smile; then his face fell. "And I'm not playing with them because they always wanna play ninja, and I hate ninja!" the boy said with a frown.

"Well, why do you say that?" the old man asked.

"My family used to be big and strong, but a ninja came and hurt them all, a long time ago, back when my great-grandpa was my age." The boy said.

"Yes, true, but did you know that your great-grandparents were two of the most powerful ninja in the whole entire Land of Fire?"

The boy looked shocked at this. "How did ya know that mister?" he asked.

"Well, I bet it's because they were my best friends Naruto." The old man said, then smiled, "Here, sit down, I'll tell ya the story of Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

The great Ninja War had ended, and the Minato and his brother, had decided to settle down. Minato and his wife, Kushina; along with Seito, his brother; and Kushina's sister, Megumi. Minato continued his family's title, and was the Hokage, while his brother hung up his ninja equipment and took up smithing in his wife's clan, the Uzumaki's. Peace had been granted to the land when the greatest tragedy struck. The Kyuubi attacked Konoha, and Minato and his wife died, leaving their newborn son Naruto in the care of Seito and the Uzumaki's.

Minato had tried to seal the Kyuubi, but because it was so huge, it's power had to be split in half, the light and dark side of the Kyuubi, one half was sealed in two male infants. The sealing had been performed, and the children who were sacrificed for the jutsu had been placed in the care of their respective clans, the two most powerful clans in Konoha.

The boys had been cared for, with their caretakers being the only ones to know who had been chosen, except for the council and the Third Hokage, who had taken the job after the death of the Fourth. And they grew older.

The real story starts now, on Naruto Uzumaki's fifth birthday.

* * *

A blond boy was in the yard playing with a girl who seemed to be about his age, she had bubblegum pink hair and emerald green eyes. Her mother fussed over the two as she set out several pies.

"Oh dear! You two be careful, we can't have Lord Naruto getting injured on his birthday, now can we, especially when he's in the care of us Haruno's."

"But mom!" the girl pleaded. "It's just a game of tag, Naruto-kun and I aren't going to get hurt." She said, not noticing Naruto creeping up behind her, he tapped her on the shoulder, shouting."

"Gotcha! Ha ha, Sakura-chan's it!" he said, and then he began to run. "She's right Oba-san, I'm not going to get hur-woah!" he said as he tripped, he landed face first and didn't get up for a minute, then he lifted a tear filled face.

"See, what did I tell you." The woman chided.

"Hahahahaha!" came peals of laughter from the boy; he was laughing so hard he was in tears.

"Oh, well I guess you can play then, just don't knock over my pies, I worked all morning on them." The woman said as she walked back into the kitchen. The two kids laughed and began their game of tag anew.

The woman and her daughter were of the Haruno family. They had been in the employment of the Uzumaki clan for several years now, and the little girl, whose name was Sakura, was Naruto's best and only friend.

Their game lasted for an hour more before Naruto's eyes shifted over to the door. His face lit up like a Christmas tree as he saw the large cake his father carried out. Happy birthday was sung, and candles were blown out, and the festivities continued.

Several games had been set out. Naruto and Sakura played every one of them, as did all the children from the Uzumaki clan, but they were all a lot older than Naruto, and usually they distanced themselves out of respect for the heir of the family, as Megumi was the only living daughter of the current clan head. But because of the occasion, they all played together, and this was a rare treat for Naruto.

After the cake had been eaten, and the games put away, the gifts were given. Naruto receives several new outfits, all in the style of a ninja, and he had also been given the gloves and sandals for it. Those gifts came from his clan. His mother gave him a set of books on chakra and controlling chakra, but it was his father's gift that he loved the most.

After all of the other gifts were given, Seito had gotten up and walked to his forge. He returned carrying a huge bundle. He smiled as he set it at Naruto's feet, saying, "I believe, if you're going to be a ninja someday, these will help."

Naruto unwrapped the gift excitedly, and gasped as its contents spilled out in front of him. First, there was a sword, a very ornate one at that. The handle was a lustrous gold with the Uzumaki's personal animal etched into the sword, a lycanthrope. The body wrapped around the hilt of the straight katana, and the pommel was its head, with onyx eyes that seemed to pull in the light around it. The blade had an etching of an army of the beast etched all the way to the tip, and the blade was razor sharp.

After Naruto was sated with staring at the beautifully made sword that he knew only his father could create, he examined the other parts of the gift. Kunai, seventeen of them in a small knife pouch with a lycanthrope in gold on it. And thirty shuriken, in a pouch with the same etching, both pouches were midnight black. And finally, a scroll, with his name on it, he bent to open it, but his father stopped him.

"Sorry my son, but you must wait until you're a little older before you can read that scroll, but I gave it to you any way, can I trust you to hold on to it ?"

Naruto looked a little sad, but smiled. "Sure thing dad, Thanks for all the cool gifts!" he said loudly.

The party was packed up soon after. And the Haruno's decided to go home for the night, instead of sleeping in the compound. Naruto told his parents that he was going to walk with them and then strapped on his new sword and followed them.

He and Sakura talked nonstop about the party all the way home, where they bade farewell and Naruto turned towards home.

Naruto walked back alone. He was about halfway when a feeling of dread came over him, and he ran back to the compound.

The whole place was dark, and Naruto walked blindly until he tripped over something. He turned to see what he fell over and found he was staring into the face of a dead person, but what was worse than that was, the person he was staring at, was none other than the woman he called his mother.

Naruto jumped up just to trip again over a basket and fell out into the backyard, where two ninja were facing off. Seito Namikaze, and his former pupil, the Uchiha prodigy, Itachi Uchiha.

* * *

Seito stood holding a sword at his side, as did his pupil across the field. "Itachi, why are you doing this?" he asked, anger and rage building in his voice.

Itachi smiled. "It's simple, killing you will give me the ultimate power. And your family was just for entertainment, don't worry, after I'm done here, I'll test my newfound power against my own clan, and then I'll leave the village, there was nothing for me here any way." Itachi said.

Seito smiled. "My skills are rusty, and I've taught you everything I know, including the swordplay that you specialize in, I know for a fact that I can't beat you. But thankfully I don't have to." He said, pulling a radio transmitter out of his ear. "I radioed everything you said to the Hokage Tower, in any minute, a troop of Anbu will be here to take you out."

Itachi's smile faltered, but rage never entered his eyes. "Then I guess we better hurry." He said as he readied his sword.

Seito did the same and in less than a second, the two had collided and a shower of sparks rained down around them.

Itachi thrust his word forward and watched silently as Seito batted it aside and then launched a counter. Itachi whipped to the left and laid the sword deep into his former teacher's back. Seito fell forward and lay on the ground.

"Foolish old man..." Itachi said as he drove his sword into the back of his Sensei's neck. There was a gurgling noise, and Seito's body convulsed, then lay still.

"Dad! No!" Naruto yelled, running to his father, Itachi yanked his sword out of the man and turned to the boy. Naruto halted and stared daggers at the man. "Why? Why did you kill my family?" Naruto shouted at him, Naruto turned his tearing eyes downward and saw his own sword. His face hardened as he looked up. He unsheathed his blade and pointed the last weapon forged by his father at Itachi. "I'll kill you for that." Her said; then charged, holding his sword the way his father did.

Itachi looked at the spectacle with amusement; he was lifting his own sword to block when a glint caught his eye. His eyes narrowed and he turned to the boy. Who was still charging. He moved forward and knocked the boy down. As he stood over the boy, his Sharingan glinting red in the night, he said, "Hate. Yes, hate me, hate me with every fiber of your being, live a wretched life, with only that hatred driving you, maybe then you'll be able to kill me, live in hate, be consumed by it, we'll meet again, but for now, farewell Naruto Uzumaki." And with that he disappeared, Naruto lay there sobbing for a few minutes before the Anbu arrived, they took the boy directly to the Hokage Tower.

The Third looked sadly upon the boy sitting in front of him. "Naruto…" he began.

"Save it. I don't need sympathy." The boy said. "And I don't need help, after we bury my family, I'll live alone in the compound, I want no visitors; I can live off of my inheritance, is that acceptable?"

"Naruto, I will not allow you to live alone…" the Third Hokage started again.

"Then I will allow those in my employ to live with me, on the grounds that no one enter the main house unless I ask them to, is _this _acceptable?"

The third gave a sad smile. "I'll allow it at the least." He turned to an Anbu. "Go inform the Haruno's of the situation and ask politely if they would like to move in with Naruto.

"Yes sir!" the Anbu said before vanishing.

The Third Hokage turned back to the boy sitting in the chair on the other side of his desk. Naruto showed no emotion upon learning that not only did Itachi kill Seito and Megumi, but had also slaughtered his whole family; that was astounding enough, but Naruto now wanted nothing to do with anyone. Sarutobi was about to ask why Naruto wanted to be alone when Naruto spoke up.

"He told me to hate him, to live in hate and be consumed by it, he told me to live a wretched life, but it's him that's wretched, I'll kill him. From this day on, that's all I live for."

Sarutobi looked sadly upon the boy. "If that is all you live for, your life will be filled with sadness and betrayal."

He said it, but the boy didn't hear him. Naruto was heading home as fast as he could run. He had remembered something.

The scroll his father gave him.

* * *

_Dear nephew, for that is what you really are, my nephew. I'm telling you this now because you've grown and became a ninja, just as your father and I. you remember the person you always wanted to be like, the Fourth Hokage, I tell you now, that he is my brother and your father. I hope this doesn't hurt too much for you, I've always loved you as a son, and I say this truthfully. But now it's time to tell you something that might mar everything you loved about the one you know now as your father. You remember the story of the Kyuubi? It was your favorite, well; I'll tell you what really happened. Your father couldn't kill it, so he did something drastic, but allowed our village to survive. My brother gave his own life to seal the fox within a newborn child, and that child is you._

Naruto stopped reading for a moment, letting the tears roll down his face. He didn't want to believe anything this scroll said, but everything fit into place. He wiped away the tears and continued on.

_I know it's hard to accept, but you must understand, Minato didn't have a choice. So I decided to give you the techniques he and I created together, I will give you the location of the Uzumaki's scroll as well, learn and be strong, for your parents, and for myself and your aunt, and keep your friend Sakura safe, one day you'll understand. I want you to promise me one thing, the middle technique; don't learn it until you're a Jounin. It's a powerful attack, but it's dangerous to use, and the last one, never use, and I mean never. But the first one is yours whenever you learn how to control your chakra, go for it kiddo, make us all proud, we love you. The Uzumaki scroll is located in the little shrine you and Sakura like playing around, under the Buddha statue, good luck._

Under the letter were three techniques and the steps to learning them. Naruto read the first one, labeled 'rasengan'. It seemed easy enough. The second one was labeled 'hirashin' and the last was labeled 'Reaper Death Seal'. Naruto studied all of them and when he was reading the last one it clicked, the Reaper Death Seal must have been what his dad used to seal the Kyuubi, the only thing that stumped him was it said 'two beings'. Which would mean Naruto wasn't the only person his dad used to seal the monster, but he didn't dwell on it, as the doorbell rang. He quickly hid the scroll and went to answer the door.

It was the Haruno's, and they were carrying all of their possessions with them. He ushered them in and his new life began.

* * *

The Haruno's had been surprised at a change in Naruto's attitude, he was now solemn and brooding, and he always carried the sword his uncle had made him. But the worst part about it was he was cold, most of the time he'd speak only one or two words at most to them, but when Sakura was around, he always put on a smile, and he played with her until they were old enough to go to the Ninja Academy.

Naruto excelled, he was first in his class, and was greatly admired, but the only person he ever talked to was Sakura, before she began to drift away as she made new friends, whose favorite sport was obsessing over the two most mysterious boys in the class, A.K.A himself and a certain black haired boy who pissed him off like no other, Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke was the younger brother of Itachi; the man who had killed his family, and the resemblance was infuriating. Sasuke was a powerful person though, he was second only to Naruto in every aspect, but the boy tried his hardest to surpass Naruto, and heated words had been exchanged many times in the first year.

Not only was Naruto passing his class, but he was also furiously training at home every day. The Haruno's stayed away from the areas where Naruto's family was killed, opting to stay in the other areas of the compound, so Naruto always trained alone, and it was not long after he learned how to control his chakra that he began working on the rasengan, and he almost had it complete by his third year in the Academy. But there was something that stopped him from completely getting it. He would be able to get it going, but he wouldn't be able to keep it going, it would dissipate and he would be drained of a lot of chakra.

He also trained with the scroll of the Uzumaki's, who were the best wind users in Konoha. He mastered technique after technique, until he had learned every jutsu in it and could perform them flawlessly. He also trained with the Third every so often, and the old man gave him a technique to replace his pitiful clone jutsu, simply because, for all the control Naruto had, he couldn't use so little chakra, he had way too much. So the Shadow Clone Jutsu was also his to use.

Then came the day of graduation, and Naruto wowed his teachers as usual. He took his headband and left with an emotionless stare that was quite normal for him. Sakura passed as well, and her family threw a small party for them that night. Naruto forced a smile and pretended to enjoy himself. It lasted for a couple hours, and then the Haruno's decided to retire for the night, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone.

Sakura scooted closer to him, and he turned and plastered on a smile like he usually did. "What's up Sakura? You look uncomfortable, is something wrong?"

Sakura saw right through the smile, as she had been able to since they were five. "Naruto, I wish you'd quit treating me like a little kid, we're ninja now, and I'm your friend. Why are you so cold to everyone, Sasuke is a little bastard to everyone but at least he still talks."

"Don't ever, _ever_, mention that bastard's name around me again! Naruto shouted. He then stood and walked off without looking at his friend.

Sakura stared at his back with tears in her eyes as he walked away, knowing that she had just endangered her longest friendship, she know stood on thin ice, and with Naruto the way he was, apologizing might just lead to more problems.

She got up after him anyway.

* * *

Naruto had never been as pissed as he was now. He had just been compared to Sasuke, him, and to top it all off, it was Sakura that had made the comparison! It was enough to drive him insane. He slammed his fist against a wooden pole and watched as his fist sunk into the wood, splinters and debris flying from the broken support. He looked at it like his and Sakura's friendship. Did he want that, the whole thing falling apart because of a few words?

It was then that Sakura rounded the corner. She was running fast and wasn't looking where she was going, and the next thing either of them knew, Sakura was laying on a dazed and confused Naruto, her hand upon his chest and his arms wrapped around her. She looked down at the boy that held her for a few minutes before she realized what was going on. She jumped out of his grasp with a shriek and stood behind a door as he slowly got up.

"Don't yell, you'll wake your parents, and then both of us will be in trouble." Naruto said, standing shakily. He turned to her with a smile. "But I guess I forgive you, and for earlier too. I think you should get to sleep, we've got team assignments in the morning." He said as he walked toward his room.

Sakura stood there stunned. "Sure." She said quietly when he had disappeared from view.

The Academy had treated her different than it had him. She had made friends, especially a girl named Ino, who liked the same thing she did, well, _things_, A certain raven haired boy and the blond who had just been holding her.

_**Cha!!**_ Her inner voice said. _**Victory is mine!!!! Take that Ino!!!**_

Sakura blushed at the thought of how close she and Naruto had been. She had been standing there for a while when a cold breeze wafted past her, she realized she was outside and turned to head to her own room. She was halfway there when she heard it.

The howl of a wolf.

* * *

The next morning saw Naruto dozing off in a chair while names were listed in teams. He was bored out of his mind, hoping that the two he was stuck with didn't suck.

"Team seven, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka said; staring at the three genin he had called.

"NO FUCKING WAY!!!!" Naruto shouted, he inhaled and exhaled a couple of times before talking in a more calm and respectable voice. "Um, sensei, I believe you're supposed to pair the teams evenly. I mean come on, Sasuke is the second best ninja in here, why pawn him off on me?"

Iruka sighed. "Your team was specifically requested by your jounin sensei, as all the teams were this year, so you'll have to deal with it."

"Aww man." Naruto said as he slumped in his chair muttering something about degenerate, incest, losers like the Uchihas.

Sasuke jumped onto the desk that Naruto was sitting at. "What did you just say?" he growled.

Naruto glared at him. "You heard what I said, you inbred son of a bitch."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to say something else when somebody bumped into his back and threw him forward, straight into Naruto. The two were shocked as their lips locked for a brief second. Sasuke felt a demolishing blow to his temple as He fell, and it launched him away from an angry and sputtering Naruto.

"You fucking homo!" Naruto shouted at him. "Kissing me, you sick FUCK! My mouth is poisoned; I ought to kill you for that!" Naruto advanced on the stunned Uchiha, and was about ready to throw another punch when Sakura draped herself on his back.

"Naruto, come on, leave the poor guy alone, I'll treat you to ramen if you behave." She said, getting him to drop what he was preparing to do and sit down quietly.

Iruka coughed, alerting the class that he was still there. "Now if you'll please wait here, your new instructor will be here to pick you up and begin your training. But for now, go to lunch." He said.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura sat at a picnic table outside the school. Sakura kept fidgeting, scooting closer and closer to Naruto. They were almost touching when…

WHAM!!!!!!!!

Naruto spun around and clobbered someone who had been ready to strangle him. He stepped around the table to see none other than Sasuke Uchiha.

"Why were you sneaking behind me, Uchiha, do you really think I'd be that easy of a target."

Sasuke wiped a bit of blood away from the corner of his mouth. "Naw, I just thought I should try to get you back for that shitty punch from earlier." He said.

"Shitty punch huh, I'll show you a shitty punch you motherfucking, and I mean literally motherfucking son of a bitch!"

"What did you just say about my mother, you little orphaned shithead!"

Naruto bristled. "Then let's go, right here, right now."

"Fine by me." Sasuke said, settling into his family's fighting stance.

Naruto lunged at him at high speed, right at the max of what you'd expect from a genin, and delivered a devastating right hook to Sasuke's face, sending the raven haired boy spinning. Sasuke, no less a genius in his own right, used the momentum of his spin to launch a spinning kick aimed at Naruto's ear. Unfortunately, Naruto had thrown his arm up after making contact, and his arm fell in between his head and the incoming kick, the shock still sent Naruto sliding, but the boy easily back flipped and charged again. He had almost made contact when he heard the ominous crack of someone's knuckles. A very pissed someone.

Sakura was glowering, she had been SO close to him and now someone had interfered with that, and that said person, even though he was hot too, had been in the process of trying to kick said hottie's ass, even though it was his own that was getting tanned.

"SASUKE…NARUTO…"

* * *

And there you go, chapter one of The Path I Walk, I hope you enjoyed, till next time.

Seeya!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Well, I got to say that this story didn't pick up as well as the other two, so I don't expect this one to blow up at all, and that sucks, but as an author I want to continue this story, and as a person reading it, I want to be enthralled by it every time I do. So I'm going to write this story, even though it didn't get the turnout I was hoping for.

Well, I'm a little later than I hoped for, but I hope you don't mind too much, I'm still getting used to writing three stories at once.

On with this kickin' shindig!

* * *

_Sakura was glowering, she had been SO close to him and now someone had interfered with that, and that said person, even though he was hot too, had been in the process of trying to kick said hottie's ass, even though it was his own that was getting tanned._

"_SASUKE…NARUTO…"_

Sasuke and Naruto stopped mid punch and looked at the furious konouichi that had yelled their names. A fist launched itself at Sasuke's head, too fast for him to dodge. The boy took the hit and went soaring.

"Whoa, nice hit Sakura! Did you aim or did you just knock him in the direction of that dumpster by accident!? Beautiful!" Naruto said, smiling at her.

He too flew in that direction.

* * *

An Hour Later.

Naruto sat pouting beside a still fuming Sakura. Sasuke sat on the other side of the pink haired konouichi, shooting the blond smoldering looks. Each time a glare from the pinkette answered him and he quickly looked away, hoping that a repeat of earlier wouldn't commence.

Sasuke soon grew bored with waiting, after over two and a half hours, he grinned and stealthily moved up to the door.

Sasuke had been raised in a haughty, proper mannered house, but because of the incident with his brother, he had been given the title of heir, even though his brother had eliminated the Uchiha's greatest rivaling clan.

He had been raised on protocol, and it hadn't stuck.

He had been labeled the King of Pranks in Konoha, and that he was. His last one had ended up with the Hokage faces looking like poorly painted clowns, and to top it all off, because of his status, he got away with it. Of course, the next day, Naruto had outdone him by using his wind manipulation to shred Sasuke's pants till they fell off, showing the world that his boxers were polka dotted. For some reason, the sour blond did not take kindly to that little stunt.

He snickered as he went to the sink at the back of the room, and filled up a small pail. He opened the door just a bit, and sat the pail of top of it.

"There, now we'll see how he feels about making us wait for three freaking hours." He said as he made his way back to his seat.

Naruto sat there, no emotion on his face._ There is no way in hell that's going to work._ He thought, he also knew Sakura was thinking the same thing, and by the look on her face, the whole thing made her irritated. The only difference between the two that moment was the pinkette decided to speak out.

"There is no chance in hell that it's going to work, you idiot." She said through clenched teeth.

"It will, you just wait." Sasuke replied smoothly.

* * *

Not long afterwards, a man with gravity defying hair walked down the hallway to meet his three new students. He turned at the door to find it slightly ajar. He looked up, and sure enough, there was a bucket of water, ready to empty its contents on his head if he opened the door.

He contemplated disarming the novice-like trap, but thought better of it. _Let them underestimate me, we'll see if they're fit to become ninja or not._ He thought as he pushed open the door

* * *

Sasuke has been waiting impatiently, staring at his ill devised trap. The door tipped forward, and the bucket overturned itself before falling on the man who now stood in the doorway.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, he had been watching the door, sure he had seen the man hesitate before walking in, he was sure that their new sensei purposely set off the trap. He would not fall for it, this person was not one to be underestimated, and maybe he'd even be able to teach him enough to complete his mission.

Sakura stared wide eyed at the man who stood in the doorway, he was giving them a blank stare from under the bucket that was perched lopsided due to his hair, which, even wet, was still defying the law that had become known as gravity.

Both she and Sasuke had the same thought shooting through their heads.

_HE FELL FOR IT!!!!!!!!!_

Sasuke jumped up, his fist in the air. "Ha ha! Score one for the Uchi…" His face met a bucket before he could finish.

"Now that the culprit for this ungainly joke has been punished, I want all of you to meet me on the roof." The man said quickly, turning around and heading out of the room.

Naruto got up without a word and left, Sakura rushed to help Sasuke out of the trashcan he had landed in. He gave a small smile and walked out of the room.

She blushed when he smiled at her, but under it all, she was plagued by a question that seared in her as she walked up the stairs to the roof.

Why didn't Naruto smile at her like that?

Naruto always smiled at her, but she knew him, every bit of joy he had supposedly had since his family's death had been fake, a show for those around him, he had only rarely genuinely smiled, and although they were only directed at her, which made her come to have feelings for him, they weren't smiles of joy, he only truly smiled when she needed it. It reminded her of the day her crush on Naruto began.

* * *

_Three years ago_

_Sakura sat on a bench in the park while her mother talked with the parents of the dark haired boy sitting on the bench on opposite hers._

_The boy had made a comment about her hair, and then pushed her off the rocking horse by the swing set, her mother had immediately rushed up and scolded the boy, but as she was in the process of it, the boy's parents arrived, and now the were arguing furiously over how the children should be punished._

_The boys parents could see no wrong in the boy's actions and were devastated and enraged that someone else did. And Sakura's mother was just as emotionally attached to the opposite belief. They had been arguing over it for quite a while._

_Sakura was crying, the fall had hurt, but the pain was gone now, but the boy kept throwing insults at her. She knew the boy, he thought he was better than the other students at the academy, despite being a first year with her, and he got away with a lot because his clan was valued for their tracking skills._

_Naruto had been wondering where Sakura and her mother had gone, it was nearing dinner time and they were still gone, Sakura's father was out of town trying to open a trade route to the east, although all that lay to the east were small fiefdoms banded into a small farming nation, the land of Rice. _

_Naruto grabbed an apple and started walking into town, intent on finding the Haruno's._

_He had decided to cut through the park. He wasn't really thinking about anything and was content on walking along the beautiful little path that, at this time of the year, was littered with cherry blossoms._

_He stopped walking and stood completely still, enjoying the sounds of the birds and the people, he jerked his head in the direction of a sound that had sprang out of nowhere._

_A girl crying. _

"_Yeah, you're just a little bitch, huh, can't even take a little punishment without crying to mommy."_

_The sentence drifted over from the direction of the sobbing girl. Naruto became infuriated and started in that direction. He rounded a curve and his fury tripled, the girl that had been crying had been none other than the one he'd been looking for. And sitting on a bench across from her was a boy who seemed to be enjoying the girl's wails._

"_Sakura." Naruto said quietly. The girl looked up and her eyes brightened at the sight of him. He gave a fake half smile and said, "I want you to go to aunt Haruno for a second, all right?"_

"_O-okay." She said, she got up and walked over to where her mother was standing._

_Naruto turned to the boy, his smile fading, the boy stood and cracked his knuckles, a grin stretched across his face._

"_So it's just you and me now, huh Uzumaki?" the boy said offhandedly._

"_Yes, and before we begin Kiba, let me remind you who __**I**__ am. Do you forget that I head one of the most powerful clans in Konoha, and that you have attacked my staff? The punishment for that is usually death, but yours will be a little bit milder, you will apologize to Sakura, she should not be subject to the things you have said today."_

"_Yeah, and how are you going to make me do that, huh, you think you're bad enough to take me on?" Kiba sneered._

_Naruto's eyes narrowed…_

_A few minutes later Naruto walked up to the feuding adults, dragging a bruised and bleeding Kiba by the collar of his shirt. Naruto stopped and threw the boy in between them, coughing once when Kiba looked back at him._

"_I-I'm sorry Sakura." He said to her, "What I did was wrong and I won't do it again." He turned to his parents, "I should be punished when we return to the house."_

_His parents looked at the boy, then at the blond who had dragged him over. Kiba's father frowned and started to say something, then he noticed a necklace with a swirl pattern on the boy._

"_Um, thank you for helping us correct our son's behavior, Lord Uzumaki." He said as he bowed at Naruto._

"_It is my pleasure; just make sure he doesn't harass the Haruno's again._

"_He won't, good bye."_

_After the family left Sakura turned to Naruto, "Thank you for defending me Naruto." She said._

_He smiled at her. "It's nothing Sakura; you should never have to hear those things."_

* * *

The four people stood on the roof, one sitting on the edge of the building, the others sitting on the steps about ten feet away.

"All right," the man said, "first let's hear about you, your likes and dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future, start with your names."

"Uh, sir," Sakura said sheepishly, "could you show us how it's done?"

He looked at her, then sighed and began. "Fine, my name is Kakashi Hatake, I am a Jounin instructor this year, my likes and dislikes… well I really don't have any, hobbies...hmm, well, I don't have many of those either, as for dreams for the future…I've never really thought that far ahead. Okay, now it's your turn, little girl."

Sakura scowled at being called a little girl, but started speaking anyway. "My name is Sakura Haruno, my likes are…" she looked blatantly at Naruto, and then took a sheepish glance at Sasuke. "My hobbies are watching…" again she looked at the boys she was sitting between. "My dreams for the future are…" another stare at her teammates, followed by a giggle. She frowned "And my dislikes are anyone standing in the way of my goals." She blushed and turned away from the piercing stare of her teacher.

He turned to Sasuke, "Okay, now it's your turn."

Sasuke smirked. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I like training with my dad, I hate it when I see someone stronger than me, which I haven't." he said, giving Naruto a mocking glance. "I only have one hobby, and I think you know what that one is first hand, and my dream is to be as strong as my brother Itachi, who destroyed an entire clan by himself." He finished, throwing a knowing glance at Naruto, who had tensed at the name of Sasuke's brother.

Kakashi noted this and turned to the blond. "And you are?"

Naruto was leaning forward, staring at the ground so his eyes were shaded from view by his hair. He looked up, his glacier blue eyes flashing dangerously. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I don't particularly like anything, I hate one person, and I have one hobby, getting stronger, I don't have a dream for the future, but I have a goal, an ambition, when I was five years old, a man killed my entire clan, it is my duty to them to kill him so they will be avenged, my life is meaningless unless Itachi Uchiha dies."

Sasuke flinched; Kakashi stared openly amused at the blond standing in front of him. He hadn't though that the Hokage would give him such an interesting student this year. He looked over the boy sitting in front of him.

He had blond hair that fell in an untidy sprawl, half of it mimicking his own and defying gravity. He paused, that hair looked oddly familiar, but he passed down, the boy had six whisker marks on his face, odd, but he had seen worse, the boy wore a loose black t-shirt, and wore a dark grey trench coat over it. He could see a finely adorned hilt sticking out of it, which accounted for the gold silk band that ran diagonally down a slightly muscled chest, the boy was no body builder, but he could tell that the boy had spent serious amounts of time in a gym, he also noted the clan head necklace the boy had on, he had black pants, with a strangely familiar swirl pattern inlaid in gold, and his outfit was finished of with a pair of black shinobi sandals and gloves, the same swirling pattern etched into the metal guard on the back of the gloves. Kakashi's eye traveled to the kunai pouch on the boy's leg, his eye widened; the pouch had a werewolf etched in gold on it. Only one person could have done that.

"Seito…" he murmured.

Naruto's eyes narrowed; and Sakura looked at him with what looked like a twinge of pity, which was quelled with a sizzling glare.

"What of my father?" Naruto said in a quiet rage.

"Nothing, I just recognized who you were, you look so much like your father." Kakashi said.

"Enough, I don't wish to speak of my family any longer." Naruto said, giving Kakashi a cold stare. "I believe you called us up here for more than this, so spill it."

Kakashi stared lazily at the boy, "Fine, I brought you up here to explain the field test you will be taking tomorrow."

"Wait!" Sasuke said, stopping their new teacher there. "We have to take _another_ test?"

Kakashi looked at him with his one uncovered eye, "The tests you took yesterday were to see if you _could _be ninja, the test I am giving you tomorrow determines if you _will _be ninja. Out of the twenty seven people who graduated from the academy, only nine of you will become genin, the rest will be sent back to the academy and will have to wait until next year, statistically, only one of the three of you will pass and become a ninja."

He let those words hang over their heads before speaking again.

"Now, meet me at training ground seven tomorrow at six A.M; oh, and don't eat breakfast, we don't want you getting sick during the test."

He stood and casually stepped off the roof, making his students rush to the edge. After all, it was a five story building. They looked over the edge, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.

The three looked at each other; Naruto shrugged and started walking back down the stairs. Sasuke gave Sakura a sheepish smile, who blushed in return before taking off after Naruto.

Sasuke watched them go, wondering what the bond between the blond and the girl was, and wondering if it was able to be broken.

* * *

Later That Night.

Sakura stepped out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. She sighed, nothing beat a hot bath at the day's end.

She had grown used to living in luxury. Her parents were nowhere near rich though, her father had taken a job as a merchant after the death of the Uzumaki's, and her mother stayed home to take care of Naruto and Sakura, the Haruno's didn't have much money, but Naruto on the other hand… Naruto was loaded. The Uzumaki's had been one of the wealthiest clans in Konoha, they had owned several smithies in the area, along with having the second largest percentage of ninja in Konoha, bested only by the Uchiha clan, who made it a requirement to be considered a clan member. Besides that, the Uzumaki's had owned the largest gold mine in the nation of Fire. Naruto had received all that as his inheritance.

Naruto was a modest person, he didn't spoil himself, and rarely liked to show that he had money, but when it came to the Haruno's, he kept them comfortable. Sakura had her own wing of the house, and it included a large bedroom, kitchen, training room, an exquisite bathroom, and best of all, a clear view and path into the gardens, the only other path into the gardens was in the main house, where Naruto lived alone.

Sakura knew the rules; Naruto had laid them down years ago, when he had given her this wing of the house, she could walk into the gardens, and could spend as much time there as she wanted, he kept hers' and her parent's wings of the house fully furnished and equipped, she had one of the best training rooms in Konoha, as Ino had told her every time she walked in it; in return, the only time Sakura or her parents could enter the house is when summoned by Naruto, they were still his staff, not his guardians, he kept them living quite nice as long as they followed his orders.

Her mother was the only one to enter it recently, as she was allowed in to clean once a month. Sakura had been about to enter last night, and although she wasn't punished, she still wished she hadn't went up there.

Her father said the house was haunted. The Uzumaki's were a strange people, they believed when they died, they were reborn as wolves, who prowled the forests of Konoha, and in life they vehemently killed anyone attempting to harm the city, they believed that, if they fought as hard as possible, they would be able to guard the gardens of their mansion. Her father had heard howls from the gardens at night, but had never seen any signs of wolves in them, and last night she had heard a wolf, and had scurried back to her wing as quickly as possible.

She shook her head, sending drops of water flying everywhere; her thoughts were getting the best of her. She unwrapped the towel and grabbed a clean set of underwear. She had slipped on a nightgown when she faintly heard the sound of a piano. She walked to the door to the path out to the gardens and slid the door open. The sound seemed to be coming from the main house, across the gardens. She knew she'd regret it later, but still stepped out onto the path. She walked in the direction of the music and soon found herself standing at the back of the main house.

She stood slightly to the left of an open door, where the music seemed to be coming from. The song ended and Naruto stepped onto the deck. She realized she was hidden from his view by a large flowering bush. She saw him sigh as the next song began to play.

_I can tell by the color of the sky_

_You and eye so red divided into pieces of the sun_

She smiled; this was one of her favorite songs.

_I fall into the moment understanding why_

_I try so hard to hold it but I let it fly, let it fly away_

He sat down on the steps leading down to the gardens. He seemed to be waiting for something.

_And only the future seems clear to me right now_

_A foreign objective to be at peace with…_

_On and on,_

_I can't believe the echoes of the falling rain_

_Time walks away_

_No matter what we do we can't erase the walls around a poet's dream_

She looked at him sadly; things must be hard for him, to lose his family at so young an age. But she still wished he wouldn't be as cold and distant to everyone.

_Shiny broken thoughts that sit alone have lost their way_

_Hand outs all around distort the charity_

_Waterfalls suspend the air and birds fly in reverse_

_Nature misinterprets who she's meant to be_

_And all in one day_

She closed her eyes; her favorite part was coming up. Something brushed past her leg and she opened her eyes, she looked down and came face to face with a wolf.

_And only the future seems clear to me right now_

_A foreign objective to be at peace with…_

_On and on,_

_I can't believe the echoes of the falling rain_

_Time walks away_

_No matter what we do we can't erase the walls around a poet's dream_

The wolf turned and walked over to Naruto, who stood and smiled at the animal before grabbing the fur around its neck and giving it a large hug.

_A stolen misconception can't correct what I have seen_

_To you, to me it's all a lie, and so I intervene_

_Without the world's forgiveness I cannot be brought to life_

_Forever in the winter, I see summer in the distance, summer in the whispers of the light_

_On and on,_

_I can't believe the echoes of the falling rain_

_Time walks away_

_No matter what we do we can't erase the walls around a poet's dream_

_On and on, _

_I can't believe the echoes of the falling rain_

_Time walks away_

_No matter what we do we can't erase the walls around a poet's dream_

The song ended and the wolf and boy stood stock still staring into each other's eyes. Naruto nodded and looked in Sakura's direction.

"You can come out now Sakura, both of us know you're there." He said; his voice gentle and warm. She had almost forgotten how kind he could sound; he hadn't been like that for years. She stepped out from behind the bush and walked up to him.

"Sorry, I heard music and was curious; I didn't mean to disturb you." She said quietly.

"You didn't disturb me Sakura, you are free to come and see me whenever you wish. But I will ask why you were hiding behind that bush, and why it took me to call you out, and also why you seem to be afraid of thy wolf." He said, his voice still warm, but direct, he wasn't asking, he was demanding the answers.

She gave a sheepish smile, "Um, well, I heard music while I was getting ready for bed; I came to see what it was. I saw you standing outside and then the song started to play, it is one of my favorites, and I don't know, I just stood here listening, and then the wolf appeared, and looked right at me, I was just startled, that's all." She said, still eyeing the wolf warily.

Naruto let out a small chuckle. "You still seemed startled, Sakura, I promise you, Minato won't hurt you."

"His name is Minato?"

"Yes, he's named after someone close to me, but you wouldn't have heard his name, I'm sure your parents have, but I ask you to keep the secret of him away from them, your father already thinks the house is haunted. Can you keep it a secret?" He asked, a smile adorning his face.

"Of course, but why do you have a wolf in the first place, I mean, I know your family considers them sacred, but…"

Naruto stroked the head of the large wolf that sat at his feet. "It's part of my clan's heritage, when we become ninja, we are given a wolf to bond with, I know I've had this one longer, it was actually going to be my older cousin's, but he is gone now, so when I found the pup living in the old den under the oak tree at the back of the gardens, I began my training earlier."

"What happens after it becomes bonded to you?" Sakura asked, hoping to continue the conversation.

Naruto looked down at Minato. "We use a jutsu."

"What does the jutsu do?" She said, noting a look of sadness creep back into his face.

Naruto locked eyes with the wolf and nodded; the wolf loped away. Naruto waited for a few minutes before speaking again. "The jutsu kills him."

* * *

Kakashi stood in front of the Third, his one eye staring intently at him.

"You could have told me he was the Uzumaki clan head." He said.

The Third smiled, "But would you have changed tour decision if you knew that he was your sensei's son?" he asked.

"No, but I would be a little more prepared, are you sure it was a good idea to allow him to become a ninja, I mean, he is a clan head, a very powerful person."

Sarutobi smiled, "His future doesn't lie in politics, as I'm sure you thought Minato's didn't, the boy is too powerful, you are the only person I can trust to watch over him."

"So he is the Kyuubi container, are you sure I'm up to it?" Kakashi asked.

"You're the only one that is."

Kakashi sighed. "And what of the other one, he has potential, but I fear he is too much like his brother."

Sarutobi smiled. "You will train him. He is like Itachi in all ways but one, he doesn't see the weaknesses of his clan, and his father has twisted him to believe that the Uchiha are above fault. As his father believes, I just wish Itachi had destroyed his family first. Why he chose the Uzumaki's is a mystery to me."

"He wanted the Mangekyo Sharingan. There is no other explanation."

"Maybe, but I stand by what I said earlier, if anyone can help these two, it's you."

"As you wish, Hokage-sama."

* * *

"What?" Sakura asked shakily, "They make you raise a wolf and grow attached to it just so you can kill it, that's cruel, on both the human and the animal, how can you plan to do it?"

Naruto looked at her sadly, "I'm not really killing Minato, but yes, we raise a wolf, care for it, earn it's trust and undying devotion, and then remove it from existence, in all but one aspect, the wolf's soul and abilities remain, inside the one who performed the jutsu."

"So you mean you join souls with the wolf? That's impossible, isn't it?"

"My family's been doing it for years, now I think we need to be getting to bed, we have a test tomorrow, remember."

She smiled, glad that he had told her as much as he did, but her smile was as false as his normally was, she could hear fear and pain in that last sentence. "Yeah, I think I should get back to my room, goodnight Naruto." She turned and left, barely hearing his reply.

"Goodnight Sakura."

* * *

Well, this is the second installment of The Path I Walk; I hope it was what everyone wanted, if the whole wolf thing was a little creepy, when he actually performs the jutsu, you'll get to see what it actually does, that I just threw in on the fly, but I think beyond that, the chapter was good, the next will be pretty cool too.

Later


	3. Chapter 3

The Path I Walk

Chapter Three

Hello again from me, your lovable fat guy with a sadistic twist. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, I know for a fact you'll like this one. Enter Kakashi's test! This is going to be a little longer than the others, but there won't be any slowing down when the action speeds up, and it speeds up really quickly, so be ready, it's just the getting there that's slow.

You are being warned beforehand here, Naruto is going to unleash some hellish original jutsus. Now; he's still just a genin, so these techniques aren't going to be at full power, he wouldn't be able to do them, but he is able to perform them. I won't make him too powerful, or at least I'll try not to. Just a warning, don't be too angry if it looks like I'm going over the top here. I added a whole entire scroll of jutsus to his arsenal, so be ready for that.

Oh, for those that loved the shadow clone jutsu, it won't be his trump card, that comes later. Enough talking, enjoy!

* * *

Naruto was up at three thirty that morning.

He showered and dressed, then took a jog around the gardens barefoot before walking into the house to get his gear. He strapped on his sandals and tied on his sword. He looked at his trench coat thoughtfully. If this was a field test, the things he kept inside the coat could come in handy, but the coat itself might become a hindrance. He shrugged and grabbed it anyway.

He slipped over into Sakura's wing and walked slowly to her bedroom. He checked his watch. It read four fifteen. He nodded and slid the door open silently; he looked around at her room. Neat and orderly, not much had changed in it since she moved in here.

She was a very frugal person, and also a neat freak. There were very few things in her room, and it was always spotless. She had a large dresser and a large closet, but she had very few outfits meant for civilian life. She only had one formal dress, and it was a stretch to get her to wear it. He had personally never seen her in it, and kind of had a suspicion that she didn't want him to. There wasn't much in her room, a standing mirror and a small radio were the only things beside the dresser and her bed, which was nothing more than a brass twin bed pushed against the far wall.

He turned his eyes to her. And he almost hated to have to wake her up. She was sleeping so peacefully, her hair sprawled across her pillow, her mouth slightly open as she dreamed. He sighed and tapped her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan, wake up, we have an hour and forty five minutes to get ready and get to the other side of town." He said as her eyes flickered open.

It was his custom to wake her up in the mornings; he had been doing it ever since they began at the academy. She smiled as she sat up.

"Morning Naruto-kun." She mumbled sleepily. "What time is it?"

He sighed and looked at his watch. "Four twenty, we have to be there at six, so get ready." He turned and walked out of her room.

He sat by her door as he heard her fly through all her stuff in a hurry to get ready. Another thing about Sakura was that she wanted to get somewhere early, Naruto preferred to be on time or only slightly late, early was just too…early, you had to wait longer.

Almost an hour and fifteen minutes later they found themselves nearing their new training grounds.

They walked in silence, standing side by side. Sakura occasionally shooting glances at Naruto, who seemed to be in deep thought. She wondered what was on his mind, but didn't dare to ask.

Naruto was constantly running over all he knew about Kakashi in his head; and that wasn't much to work on. The man was a jonin; that much he knew, but apart from that, all he had been able to dig up was something he had heard from a ninja while walking down the street awhile back. "I watched Hatake fight once, the man unleashed jutsu I had never even heard of, and that eye of his never misses a thing…"

He didn't understand any of it. Kakashi hadn't looked overly remarkable when he introduced himself to them, and the one eye they could see was lazy and unfocused; as if he was somewhere else most of the time, how could it be that good. Of course, he had his headband covering his other eye, so he assumed that he had lost the other one in battle, probably due to being lazy and unfocused. He was wary of his new sensei, but he didn't put too much stock in his abilities.

"Naruto-kun? What's on your mind?" Sakura asked as they walked.

He glanced at her and sighed. "I have no clue Sakura. It's Kakashi-sensei, he looked so average, but from what I've heard, he's one of the best ninja in Konoha, it's confusing."

She looked at him and sighed, flashing a playful grin at him. "Don't worry Naruto-kun, I'll protect you, big bad Kakashi-sensei won't get to you while I'm around." She giggled.

He smiled sardonically. "Ha ha, very funny, I just hope he doesn't flash you a picture of Sasuke shirtless, I don't think I could find you before you drowned in your own drool."

She blushed beet red and punched him in the shoulder. He smiled at her and leaned against a tree, they were at their destination.

Now all they could do was wait.

* * *

Sasuke donned his shirt and grabbed his equipment, he had fifteen minutes to get to the training grounds and he didn't want to be late. _Stupid alarm clock! Damn thing hasn't worked right since I bought it!_ He thought as he rushed out of the Uchiha District at high speeds, knocking over a set of trashcans in his haste.

He slid to a halt and collapsed against a tree fifteen minutes later, he had made it with barely a minute to spare. He sat there panting before noticing his two teammates standing not ten feet away.

"Alarm…didn't…go…off…on…time." He gasped with a grin. "Ran…all…the…way…here…"

Sakura giggled and smiled. Sasuke was a bit goofy sometimes, but he was always a source of amusement.

"What's so funny?" he said, leaning back against a tree.

Naruto turned and began walking into the practice field. "Take a look at yourself, loser."

"Huh?"

Sakura giggled again. "Um...well, your shirt's on backwards, your sandals are on the wrong feet, and you have someone's garbage in your hair." She said with a smile.

Sasuke's hand flew to his hair, and sure enough…

"Ach! Son of a bitch!"

* * *

A few minutes and Sasuke looked like he always did, and he and Naruto were engaged in another glaring contest, this time, the topic was...

"Seriously!" Naruto shouted at him. "There is no way in hell Peter Parker could kick Bruce Wayne's ass, man, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Bruce Wayne is a Pansy! Look at the shit the Joker put him through, and he isn't even dead yet. Do yousee _any_ of Spiderman's enemies still alive?"

"Because they all kill _themselves_ before the little pencil pushing fairy can take them in!" Naruto said, grabbing Sasuke by the scruff.

"Guys, guys, let's all just quit with the violence and wait for Kakashi-Sensei." Sakura said, playing arbitrator.

"Shut up!" they said in unison.

A minute later seen Sasuke flying one way and Naruto flying the other,

* * *

The breakfast crowd in the market nearby was thinning when Kakashi appeared, startling Sasuke, who was in his third tirade of what he was going to do with their useless sensei once the bastard finally showed up.

And it was a spectacular entrance.

"I'm gonna cut out the lazy son of a bitch's eye and ram it so far up his ass, he'll be able to see yesterday's lunch! I'm gonna, Ach!" he grunted as he was pulled by the feet into the air and left hanging

"Keep yourself alert Uchiha-san." Kakashi said, jumping down from the branch Sasuke was secured to. "You can't predict what your opponent is going to do if you're not paying attention, isn't that right Uzumaki-san?"

"Humph, I heard you moving through the trees a minute ago, what was the point of making us wait?"

"Patience is a virtue." Kakashi replied.

"Sloth is a sin." Naruto countered.

"Ah, falling on western practices, are you Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned and walked to the river, he stopped after a couple steps, long enough to speak one sentence.

"I don't believe in a god, and if there is one, I'm glad I'll go to hell, if he can take the lives of the innocent with no qualms, that doesn't seem like the kind of deity I want to follow."

He scooped up a handful of water and splashed it on his face. He turned and glared at Kakashi.

"Now let's get your test over with, before I actually deem it fit to kill you."

Sakura stared at him in shock, Sasuke sent him a glare, but Kakashi merely looked amused.

"Very well, the test is this…" he said as he revealed two bells.

"Bells?" Sasuke snorted. "What are we going to do with bells?"

"The test is simple, there are two bells, whoever, gets one becomes a genin, if, by lunch in an hour, you don't have a bell; you fail and can never take the genin examination again."

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

Sasuke's mouth hung open.

Sakura looked at the bells and then at Naruto, her face hardened, he had helped her over the years, and had even helped her with her own special jutsu that only her great-grandpa had used in the family for almost a hundred years, she wouldn't, and_ couldn't_ let him down.

"Fine." Naruto said with such vehemence that even Kakashi looked taken aback. He stepped forward; then crouched, like a tiger ready to spring.

"The only way any of you will get these bells is if you are actually trying to kill me, so please make it interesting…GO!"

Two blurs indicated that most of the team had tried to hide themselves, even though where they were hiding was excruciatingly obvious. But Kakashi's focus was on the one that had refused to hide.

Naruto had pulled out an MP3 and was putting in a set of earphones. Kakashi could hear The Offspring blaring as Naruto turned it on.

He looked up at Kakashi. "What, I fight better when I've got my tunes."

Kakashi sighed and pulled out his book…

Only to have it knocked out of his hands.

* * *

Kakashi was dumbfounded. He had actually been caught off guard, but the boy's actions were enough to throw him back on track, he looked to his left to see the sheath that had battered away his prized possession in the hands of a seemingly bored Naruto, the pommel of the blade inches from his cheek, held in the left hand with the blade horizontal; headphones blaring Gone Away. He turned his head enough to glimpse another behind him, his sword held in the same stance, still sheathed; Seito's own personal style.

He turned back to the original Naruto, who was still about twenty feet from him. This Naruto had his sword sheathed at his left side, his right hand resting on the pommel, crouched down and leaning forward.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized the move Naruto was about to unleash. Of all the swordsman in Konoha, his father and uncle were the best, this was a move that only Seito and Minato could pull off, without taking out any of their own allies.

Kakashi looked on each side to see a clone of Naruto, with two behind him. Naruto had used solid clones, which eliminated the risk of killing his own teammates.

"Are you ready Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked in an offhand tone, as if they were getting ready to play a simple game of shogi.

Kakashi barely had time to react as the genin launched at him with blinding speed, forcing large amounts of his chakra into the blade. He was manipulating his wind element, increasing the size and cutting power of the blade by well over five hundred percent.

Kakashi was in midair, looking down at the grove of trees he had been in front of. Or what was left of them. About a foot from the ground the trunks had shattered, actually they had been pulverized by more than seven thousand pounds of pressure per square inch, Naruto stood in the middle, panting, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them he had no sign of fatigue.

Kakashi landed about thirty feet away. "That's what I want to see. If you would have hit me with that, I wouldn't be alive right now, very goo…"

"Rasengan!!!!"

Kakashi was one again airborne as he jumped over the genin charging him with one of the most powerful jutsu ever created.

The rasengan faltered and exploded, destroying the clone.

Kakashi landed on a tree branch and spun, avoiding a kick launched at his head from behind. He was astounded at the flash of pink that accompanied the foot. He flipped down and landed gracefully beside his book.

"I believe I dropped this." he said in his offhand tone. "I believe it's time we get serious. Wouldn't you say, Naruto Uzumaki, head of the Uzumaki clan and the inheritor of your grandfather's massive array of wind jutsu. What I'm most surprised of though, is that Sakura here decided to help you. There are three genin going for two bells, helping you diminishes her chances of getting her own."

Naruto smirked. "No it doesn't. Sakura and I have been training together since we were six, there's no one I would rather have beside me on a team."

Kakashi nodded. "First lesson of teamwork, make a strategy." His hands flew, and the world melted around them.

"Genjutsu…"

* * *

Sasuke had been moving ever since Sakura had given away her position. He had been heading as far east as possible. He had heard about this training field from his father, somewhere out here was the perfect spot to launch an ambush on Kakashi.

One of those bells would be his.

Suddenly his forward momentum was cut off, and he was sent sprawling backwards.

"What the…?"

"Well, Sasuke, I though your parents would have taught you better manners, first you drop a bucket on my head, and now you run into me…I think I ought to teach you more respect." Kakashi said in his lazy tone as he impassively stared at the Uchiha.

Sasuke launched himself at Kakashi, his fists flying as he tried to strike his sensei; but to no avail, Kakashi blocked and dodged him like he was moving in slow motion. The blatant look of boredom that was always on Kakashi's face still lingered, and it enraged Sasuke to no end.

"GODDAMMIT! JUST FUCKING GET HIT ALREADY, YOU CUNT!!!!!!" Sasuke screamed as he tried his most complex maneuvers to hit him.

Kakashi grabbed his fist. "Now, now; what would your parents say if they heard your mouth?" he grabbed Sasuke's head and slammed his face into the dirt. "I'd better teach you some manners."

"Get. Off. Me. You. Mother. FUCKER!!!" Sasuke screamed through a mouthful of dirt.

"Not until you learn how to clean up your mouth." Kakashi replied

"GET OFF ME YOU COCKLICKING SONOFABITCH!!!!"

"Nope."

* * *

Naruto was in a black and white world. But the moon was full in the sky, and he was at his home, walking through the main compound. He kicked something with his foot. He gasped and fell backward as he looked down at his mother's body.

The world spun again and he was watching three older kids pushing around a three year old version of himself. He stared as one kicked him in the knee and sent him to the ground, watched as one stepped on his neck. They were killing him. He didn't remember this, of course, this was so long ago.

"You killed our cousin Kushina." The biggest said, pressing his foot deeper into Naruto's throat. "So I'm going to kill you."

"B-but I don't even know K-Kushina. W-who i-is she?" he said hoarsely.

"It doesn't matter; you killed her, that's all you need to know."

Naruto, both the twelve year old, and the three year old counterpart, clenched his eyes shut.

"I don't want to see this!" the older one yelled. "STOP IT!!"

The older kids, except for the one on Naruto's throat stepped back and gasped at the boy. The oldest was terrified at the boy under him. He had begun leaking a strange red chakra, and his eyes became blood red with black slits for pupils.

"No…" the older Naruto breathed. "I don't want to see this, make it go away. MAKE IT GO AWAY!"

"_**GET OFF OF ME!!"**_

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he was lying in front of the stream, where he and Sakura had been when Kakashi had used the genjutsu on them. He looked over to see Sakura staring at the water in utter horror.

"Everyone is dead…everyone but me…" she sobbed, silent tears falling down her cheeks. A kunai clenched in her hands, pointing at her abdomen.

Naruto scrabbled over and grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

"It wasn't real Sakura, it didn't happen, everyone is fine." He said forcefully; grabbing the knife out of her hands.

Her eyes refocused on his face, and before he could do anything, she had thrown herself around him. He lightly hugged her, treating her as though she were too fragile and precious to touch.

"I thought you had died." She sobbed into his shoulder. "I thought you had left me forever."

"Shh, Sakura. Nothing is going to kill me, nor am I going anywhere, I'll be right here forever."

"Y-you promise?"

"I promise."

Naruto stood, then turned and helped Sakura to her feet.

"Kakashi was right, we need a strategy. Your special ninjutsu mixed with my taijutsu should be able to do it."

"But who is my target?" She asked.

"Kakashi will be your target."

"Will it work on him?"

"It hasn't been seen in so long, it should."

Sakura looked at him closely. He was pale, and his eyes spoke volumes. Whatever he had seen, it had spooked him.

"Okay, let's do it."

Naruto nodded and gave a harsh, piercing whistle. A few minutes passed and then out of the shadows Minato plodded out, his golden eyes glinting with amusement and apprehension at the smell of the two ninja's fear. He looked at Naruto.

"It was nothing." Naruto said. "Let's get this done."

Minato cocked his head.

"Yes, you're going to be involved, why do you think I called, no more hiding in the shadows."

The wolf nodded; then lifted his head and sniffed the air. He stood still for a moment, and then shot off in an easterly direction. The two genin looked at each other and then followed as fast as they could.

* * *

Kakashi jumped off of Sasuke just in time to avoid a silver blur of sharp fangs. He looked up to see Naruto standing by a large wolf._ So that was her secret._ He thought as Naruto was joined by Sakura. They reminded him of a time past, of himself and his teammate Rin, Rin Uzumaki.

"Kakashi sensei." Naruto started calmly "Minato and I don't want to hurt you, but we will if we have to, and with Sakura here, you won't be able to stop it. Give us the bells, or I'll let Minato taste human flesh for the first time."

"About damn time Uzumaki." Sasuke said with a low growl. "Where'd you get the puppy?"

It was Minato's turn to growl.

"What is your answer Kakashi?"

Kakashi sighed "your task is to take the bells, not for me to give them to you."

Naruto sighed. "Then the answer is no?"

"Could it be any clearer?"

"Very well…Sakura, now."

She formed the bird seal and started channeling her chakra. Kakashi stared at her, he couldn't really tell what she was doing, and then he remembered hearing a tale about A Haruno who had been one of Konoha's best ninja during the first War. They said he had some sort of jutsu that would make his enemies go crazy, but those were just stories, only the Yamanaka's had mind jutsu.

His vision swam, and he became dizzy.

"You see, Sakura has something only her great-grandfather had before her, a second personality, I discovered it a while back and checked the Uzumaki archives, because he was employed with us at the time, I found his personal memoirs and then shared that knowledge with Sakura. You see, her second persona can be channeled out of her body and into the surroundings by her chakra, distorting anything she chooses, she can literally make people hallucinate."

There were thirty Naruto's running at him, with a wolf bigger than the Kyuubi behind him. He was still sane enough to fight them off, but he felt Naruto touch the bells at least once. And then it was over, an alarm sounded.

* * *

Sasuke simmered as he hung from the stump he was tied to, while Naruto stared at Kakashi with something akin to hatred, and Sakura was slumped defeated on the other side of Sasuke's stump.

"You all failed, none of you were able to get the bells before lunch, but I'll let you take another chance after lunch, on one condition. Sasuke doesn't get to eat." He said

"WHAT WAS THAT YOU COCK MONKEY?" Sasuke screamed at him.

"When your two teammates jumped into battle to fight me, what did you do, you took off, if you had helped, the bells might have been in your hands now, but no, you only thought of yourself."

"Naruto, you rushed headfirst into battle without planning anything, if I had been trying to kill, you'd have been my first casualty, although if many of your blows landed, I wouldn't be here to lecture you right now."

"Sakura, you were too concerned with Naruto to even begin a strategy, if you and Sasuke had used Naruto's attack on me as a distraction, you could have come up with a plan to attack me and help Naruto, but you broke your cover on a whim to help Naruto."

All three genin looked at him with murder in their eyes.

"I'll be back in thirty minutes, you two, eat your lunches, and remember; Sasuke doesn't get any."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

Naruto had picked at his lunch, looking around. He took a quick scan and then stood, looking at Sasuke."

"I'm going to give you a bit of my lunch. You and I are the strongest physically, it will take both of us to bring down Kakashi, even with Sakura's jutsu to back us up.

Sakura stood up as well. "Here, take a bit of mine too."

The ground erupted. In between the three genin, and out popped a very angry Kakashi.

"YOU, ALL OF YOU…..pass." he said.

* * *

Aaaaand chapter three is done! Sorry it took so long, work had me pretty screwed over, but I'm not working six days a week anymore, so I should be able to get these to you faster now. Oh, that's right, pop in and check out my new story, pudgypudge put out a challenge, and this idea popped into my head, the name of the story is Redemption, give it a go….please.

Till next time.


	4. Chapter 4

The Path I Walk

Chapter Four

Whoo…Man I haven't been able to get anything done in a while, and I apologize for that, I've had car problems since October, as in, I broke my car and can't fix it. But I'm still here, and I'm still trying to get this stuff out as fast as I can and as good as I can.

Now, I know it hasn't been much change from the actual storyline yet, but it's getting there, the next couple chapters will give you enough changes as it is, and that's _before _the Chunin exams even get started…

Ahh, I'm not going to ruin the surprises, so on with chapter four!

* * *

The three Genin stared at their mentor, mouths hanging open. Kakashi knew what was coming next and put his hands over his ears.

"WHAAAAAAT?" Sakura screamed

"YOU GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING!" Naruto roared

AAAARGHH, CUT ME LOOSE GUYS, I'M GONNA SKIN THIS COCKSUCKING BALLJUNKY, JUST WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU KAKASHI, I'M GONNA SHOVE MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS, MY PINKY TOE IS GONNA TICKLE YOUR PEA-SIZED BRAIN!"

_Kids…they eat too much sugar these days..._ he sighed inwardly.

"You both sacrificed a bit of your lunch so your teammate would be able to help, that's true teamwork, you all pass. You have now truly become Genin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves" Kakashi said, smiling his weird eye smile.

Naruto's glare could have melted diamonds, and Sakura's wasn't any better, but Sasuke's shit eating grin compensated for most of that.

Kakashi turned and began walking into town. "Come on, cut Sasuke down and we'll all go to get some food, my treat." He said over his shoulder.

Sakura sighed. "You'll regret that Sensei, Naruto eats more in one sitting than most families eat in a year."

Naruto cut the ropes holding Sasuke to the log and shot Sakura a reproachful glare. "I might, but if you haven't noticed, this little asshole eats twice what I do."

"Shut up dickhead." Sasuke said, trying to wipe a grin off of his face.

Kakashi just sighed and began walking toward the cheapest grill in town, his wallet was going to be hurting in the morning.

* * *

Kakashi sat at the table crying silently into his saucer of sake. He hadn't quite believed Sakura's estimate on Naruto until the fifteenth plate of grilled pork went down his throat; and what was worse…Sasuke was matching him plate for plate. And the worst part was that they were fighting over everything like animals.

"Is it always like this?" he asked Sakura; who, after one plate stopped eating nearly two hours ago.

She sighed, "Yeah, they're gonna eat till they throw up, and then they'll argue about who ate the most down to the last peace. You should have seen them at the Academy; usually their table manners aren't this good." She replied, silently sipping her tea.

Kakashi turned a regretful eye at the two rabid dogs attacking all the meat on the table and wondered how they could be worse, his mind couldn't fathom it. "You call this good?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "You are the one who wanted to treat us to dinner, I blame you.

_My wallet does too…_Kakashi thought sadly.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto piped up in between shoveling down another plate of pork. "I think the manager wants to talk to you."

Kakashi turned his attention to a red faced man staring at the two boys with utter horror. He sighed and made his way over to the dumbstruck fellow.

"I'm awfully sorry about all this, I promise to get them out of here shortly, how much for the four of us?" he asked, forcing himself to smile at the gentleman.

"I don't want your money…the two of them just went through a month's stock of beef and almost three times that of pork, them out the door is all the payment I need, that and the assurance that you won't bring them back."

Kakashi sighed dejectedly. He hoped that this wasn't going to repeat itself often.

* * *

Naruto sighed happily as he walked down the road, rubbing his bulging stomach. Sakura walked beside him with a look of irritation.

"Naruto," she started angrily "the moment you take a break from being a ninja, your muscle is gonna turn into fat and you won't be able to get your fat ass out of a chair."

Minato snorted and Naruto shot him an indignant glare.

"You're supposed to be on my side you mutt." he shot at the wolf.

Minato growled and stared him down. Sakura walked between the two giggling.

"Let's just get home before mom blows a gasket. She's probably been worried sick about you."

Naruto stopped walking and stared at the girl walking ahead of her. "Why should she be worried about me? You're her daughter." he said with feigned irritation.

She turned and winked. "Because she knows her beautiful daughter catches all the boy's eyes."

"Yeah, well what does that have to do with me?" he asked.

"Well. She knows how extremely jealous you get." she replied. "Usually she's patching you up for getting your ass beat because you don't want anyone else to look at me." she giggled and began walking briskly; counting down.

_Three…two…one…_

"WHAT? NO! I CALL BULLSHIT ON THAT ONE! GET YOUR SCRAWNY ASS BACK HERE! I DO NOT ALWAYS GET MY ASS KICKED!"

Sakura laughed and started running; an irate blond hot on her heels.

Minato cocked his head slightly and gave a small huff before continuing his steady pace back to the compound and to his comfy den.

* * *

Two Weeks Later.

* * *

"I have a visual of the target. Over." came a voice through the earphone. A male voice, young, kind of higher pitched. The pinkette nodded and replied quickly.

"Roger. Don't move until all of us are in position. Over." she began moving quietly through the forested are they were currently in. this chase had been going on for an hour and had covered half of Konoha's cityscape before they had finally gotten the damn thing cornered.

A third voice crackled through. Another male, this one slightly lower pitched.

"Who's Rodger? There's just us three THIS time."

The girl sighed and rested her head in her hand, massaging the temples slightly. "That means affirmative Sasuke."

"Oh…I get it now…"

"God, Sasuke. You really are the biggest idiot I know. I've always wanted to ask; how do you know which shoe goes on which foot? I'd expect it would take you a couple hours to figure it out." Naruto asked cheekily.

"Well, it did for a while, but then my mom got this…HEY! YOU ASSHOLE! I'M GONNA-"

"Shush!" Sakura said, cutting him off. "We have a mission to do so let's just get it done ok?"

"Fine."

"Rodger…or should I say Phillip? Or Bob? John? Better yet, who the fuck came up with that in the first goddamn place?"

"Just be quiet Sasuke. Naruto; do you still have a visual on the target?"

"Yeah, its still where it-wait. Argh! goddamn; it's moving, fuck getting into position, I'm engaging."

There was a rustle in the foliage to Sakura' left, and then a howl.

"ARGH!GODDAMN PIECE OF SHIT! GET IT OFF ME" rang out, followed byNaruto's "Come on, Sasuke! Grab it! It's practically in your lap!"

"YEAH! IN MY LAP HUH? IT'S USING MY GODDAMN BALLS AS PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT!"

Sakura rushed in quickly to find Naruto rolling on the ground laughing as a large tabby cat tried to claw it's way down Sasuke's leg. She sighed and switched the channel on her earpiece.

"Mission accomplished Sensei." she reported.

* * *

The three genin stood in front of the Hokage's table with frowns on their faces as a large woman hugged the infernal bastard cat to her overly large bosom.

"Come on you old fart! Give us a decent damn mission for once!" Sasuke shouted at the Sandiame when the woman left. "We've been doing these shitty ass D-ranks for the last two fucking weeks! Give us something good old man!"

Sakura looked at Sasuke with a mixture of shock, outrage, and embarrassment, but Naruto just shrugged.

"He has a point Hokage-sama. We have been doing several D-ranks a day for several days now. I agree with Sasuke, I think we need a better mission."

The Hokage nodded; then turned to Sakura. "And what about you, young lady? Do you think Team 7 is ready for anything more than a D-rank mission?"

"Y-yes I do Hokage-sama. We have done fairly well with the missions given to us. I believe that we could not continue D-ranks and still form a cohesive unit."

"I think what she's trying to tell ya is that more D-ranks are gonna drive the three of us bat shit crazy." Sasuke put in, earning him a slap to the back of the head from the female part of his team.

The Hokage sighed, "Very well. At the moment we have a C-rank escort mission to the Land of Waves. Hatake, do you think your team can handle this one?"

"Fairly well Hokage-sama. If any assistance is needed I can provide it. The mission should be no problem for the four of us." Kakashi said with a smile.

"Fine. Then a C-rank you get, an escort mission to the Land of Waves. Your duty is to protect a bridge builder by the name of Tazuna. Let me introduce the four of you to him."

One of the assistants scurried off at a nod only to bring back an older man who was too drunk to stand.

"What's this?" the man slurred, "I pay for a team of ninja and I get a couple kids and a blind guy? You tryin to rip me off?"

The Hokage smiled. "I assure you Tazuna, these fine young ninja will be able to protect you to the extent you have asked for."

"Hmph. Ninja? They don't look old enough to be outta diapers yet, especially the one in the blue."

Naruto and Sakura shot a glance at Sasuke; shaking their heads no just as they were pulling ear plugs out.

Sasuke only grinned and pulled out a single shuriken. He twiddled with it for a moment before lazily flicking it in Tazuna's direction. The shuriken sliced through the firs few buttons off of his jacket and severed the string to his hat. The hat fell of and the jacket popped open. Tazuna stared with bulging drunken eyes at his hat laying on the floor.

"Just a bit more power and that shuriken would have slit your throat wide open. Do we fit your standards now?"

"You're just kids."

"So."

Tazuna sighed. "Fine, if it's the best I can get, I'll take it."

"Then we will meet you tomorrow morning at the Eastern Gate." Be sober, we'll be doing a lot of walking."

The old man was led out of the room grumbling.

Kakashi dismissed his team, but as they were walking out of the door, the Third stood.

Uzumaki-san. I would like a word with you alone if it would not be a hindrance."

Naruto stopped and turned back into the room. "Not at all Hokage-sama, I always have time to talk."

"Will you be bringing Minato along with you on this mission?" the Third asked with a smile.

Naruto didn't pause. "Hai, he is very useful at spotting enemy threats and hidden dangers. Plus he is an excellent fighter; and I enjoy his company."

The Hokage nodded, "So no chance of using that jutsu then?"

Naruto gave a slight pause. "There will always be a chance. It's a last resort, but something about this mission strikes me as odd. Tazuna might be hiding something."

"Your powers of observation are becoming sharp, Naruto. But I ask as a friend and mentor; please don't use that jutsu unless your life, or the lives of your teammates or your charge are in danger. I've seen it up close, the results are not always pretty."

"Of course Hokage-sama. Is that all you request of me?"

"At the moment, yes. Now get home and pack. You have a three week journey ahead of you."

Naruto bowed and excused himself from the room.

Sarutobi sighed and leaned back in his chair.

_Your powers of observation are correct Naruto. I just hope this mission doesn't turn out to be too much for you._

* * *

_The sky was black with thunderclouds. Flashes of lightning striking all around him. And standing not thirty feet away was the object of this nightmare. A man in a dark black cloak walking towards him._

"_I'll kill you this time weakling. There is no one here to call for help, no Anbu to save you now Uzumaki."_

_He settled into a fighting stance, slipping his sword out of its sheath. "Give me a reason not to kill you Itachi, you'll get what you deserve."_

"_Is it what I deserve, or what you do?" Itachi laughed. "Or do you just wish to wash this memory away? That is what divides us, I know what I want, and I take it; you just yearn for it until it's taken from you. LIKE YOUR LIFE!"_

_

* * *

_

Naruto shot up, kunai in hand as an alarm sounded. He scanned his room quickly, double checking every shadowed corner , door and window before locating the source of the sound. A small alarm clock on his dresser. He slipped out of bed and shut if off before stretching and walking towards the bathroom for a hot shower.

Once or twice every week he would have one of those dreamscape conversation nightmares, he pushed it to the back of his mind and began to prepare for the day

He slipped on his battle wear, opting to take his trench coat for all the pockets and extra padding it would provide, over a tight black shirt with overlapping metal plates on the front and a large one covering the back. He had ordered the shirt and coat as a set, as the back of it had two plates down the side of the coat that could be removed and used as swords, while any of the plates on the front could be detached and thrown, the back plate was stationary, but it's purpose was to protect his back when he was outnumbered. The plates were thin and lightweight, so as not to affect mobility and dexterity, and as such, protection was limited to kunai and shuriken. He slipped his sheathe into the custom fitted slot in the back of his coat and filled the pockets with assorted shinobi weaponry, from senbon, kunai and shuriken, to a couple pairs of differently sized sets of spiked knuckles. His pants were another custom order. They zipped down the side to hide a tanto strapped to each leg, along with several holsters for knives of various sizes. The under layer of the pants were fitted with the same type of plates as on the shirt and jacket, non-detachable and only for light protection. His boots were spiked and steel toed, with a spring loaded knife in the sole of the toe, and another located in the heel.

The whole outfit weighed about forty-five to fifty pounds without weaponry. The jacket weighing about twenty, the pants twelve, the shirt seven, and the boots, four apiece. Naruto wasn't fully accustomed to the weight yet, but he had been training with them every night for the past couple weeks. He had ordered them the day before he became a genin and the smiths and tailors were paid handsomely to get the project done in less than a week; they had it done in four days.

He grabbed his pack, which just had his regular Uzumaki jacket and pants, along with a couple undershirts and a set of sandals. The Land of Waves was an island, and he figured it might be a little hot for the armor with summer approaching.

He stepped out of his room and began walking for Sakura's wing of the house and nearly ran into her as he turned the corner.

"Oops!" She said with a laugh. "I guess we had the same idea, huh?"

He smiled, "Yeah, I guess so…so, are you ready?"

She nodded.

"Then let's get this show on the road." he said as he began walking down the steps to the road out of the main compound.

* * *

Tazuna and Kakashi sat by the gate watching the sun rise when they heard the whooping. Turning the two saw four blurs speeding through the streets in their direction; slowin to a stop at the gate.

Sasuke turned his head slightly and addressed the two.

"You old pigfuckers coming or do we need to stop by a Wal-Mart to get you some more tennis balls for those walkers?"

The three genin stared laughing at the look of indignation on Tazuna's face. Kakashi cocked his head slightly.

"What's a Wal-Mart?" he asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "Beats the hell outta me."

They all laughed as the made their way out of The Village Hidden in the Leaves, next stop, the Land of Waves.

* * *

And done with this one, sorry it took so long. Excuses are like assholes, and I don't need but the one. Anyways, I've been strapped for time, so that's why it's been a while. Sorry, but Sasuke's filthy mouth will play itself out later, it's all part of the story

Till next time.


	5. Chapter 5

The Path I Walk

Chapter 5

Ok, I will apologize for not getting this out sooner, but hey, at least I'm still getting the chapters out, even if it's not as fast as I want to. Oh and to those who say this is the same story, with just Naruto and Sasuke's position switched…you're only one-third right, those that think that and decide to keep reading…not too many chapters now and then it's all original storyline

Well, I think it would be best if I quit filling your ears with my useless small talk and returned to the story, enjoy the next chapter of The Path I Walk!

* * *

The path stretched into the woods, just going and going,. The sun was high in the sky, and there were few shadows across the road, the birds were singing, the wind was blowing lazily by, and all three genin were bored out of their minds…

"When is something exciting gonna happen goddammit!" Sasuke shouted to no one in particular. Stomping his foot in a puddle as he walked by it.

They had been on the road for a few days now, with nothing more exciting than stubbed toes and a group of angry squirrels trying to nest in Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto's hair the second campsite…which got Tazuna laughing in a wheezy annoying bark and Sakura red in the face and still giggling, or perhaps it was because Sasuke still had a twig in his hair…

"Be patient, Sasuke-san." Naruto said in a kind tone, extremely odd in itself, but even more so since he was addressing Sasuke, his attention seemed to be somewhere else, the large wolf beside him was alert, with his eyes roaming everywhere, ears perked and hackles up.

"Why so civil all of a sudden Naruto?" Kakashi asked in his nonchalant monotone.

Naruto turned his gaze upon the older man. "Sensei, I'm sure you've noticed what Minato and I have been sensing, we are being watched, Minato's been getting edgier and edgier as we progress today, I'm merely saying that we will see battle soon enough, and that Sasuke's apparent blood thirst will be quenched."

Kakashi nodded. He was beginning to see the talent his young student possessed, while a bit headstrong in most situations, he was well versed in combat arts, possessed astounding ninjutsu as well as a cool head and perceptive analytical reasoning. He would move up the ranks quickly.

He analyzed his other students. Sasuke was excellent in combat, and during their few training sessions he showed talent in all his ninjutsu arts, he was brash and eager, but Kakashi knew that when the Sharingan activated for the boy, his talents would exceed his own eventually.

And Sakura, she had an affinity for genjutsu, and was very well versed in it. She had amazing chakra control, and as quick reasoning as Naruto. Then there was her alter-personality jutsu, she was as deadly as the other two, even if her ninjutsu and taijutsu skills were only slightly above par.

_The Hokage must have beat down the other sensei's, _he thought _for me to get three top students, I know Yuuhi wanted the girl badly, and anyone would have jumped at the chance to train Sasuke…they knew they wouldn't get Naruto._ He turned his gaze to the heavens_ Sensei, you spoiled me._

"Very perceptive Naruto, do you know where they are?"

Naruto closed his eyes, lost in thought, Minato gave a rough bark and Naruto nodded. "No Sensei, Minato seems to find one of them for a few moments, but he's doing something to mask his movements."

Sasuke flipped around and launched a kunai barely an inch from Sakura's nose, earning a surprised shriek and a slap across the head from a very irate girl, of course it dislodged the twig, Sasuke scowled at it angrily.

"What was that for?" he shot at her.

Her hand making contact with his face was followed by "What the hell was that _for_? How about the kunai that nearly took off my nose you degenerate little ass-wipe!"

"Shhh!" Naruto said, "Nice throw Sasuke, you heard him too then."

Sasuke rubbed his reddened cheek "Yeah, let's go see if I got him."

They parted the bushes only to find a terrified white rabbit with a kunai buried in a tree just centimeters above his head, between his ears.

"AWWWW" Sakura sighed as she stooped down to pick up the frightened creature.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That there aren't any rabbits that color in these woods."

They both turned to Kakashi, and watched their mentor wrapped in razor wire and slashed to pieces.

* * *

Naruto jumped into action, he launched himself like a guided missile at Tazuna, knocking him down just in time to avoid decapitation by a huge shuriken. Sasuke jumped to his side, shielding their client from a hail of kunai with one of his own.

Sakura shrieked and was frozen in place. The sight of her sensei torn apart sending her into shock.

Naruto spared her a glance, then turned his eyes back to the battlefield, he reached behind his head and gripped the hilt of his sword, settling into a lower stance, a falling leaf drifted from the other side of the road, before it reached the ground, he detected movement and rocketed forward.

* * *

The ninja that attacked had not expected a counterattack from a bunch of kids, especially the noble who looked like he had never even skinned his knee, but he barely had time to bring up his gauntlet to block a vicious looking sword from slicing him in two. He spared a glance to his left to see his teammate grappling with the other genin boy, if only one of them could get to the target…

A quick jab from his opponent caught his attention, he went to parrying the boy's sword with his metal glove, attempting to use his razor whip to no avail. The boy was good, there was no doubt there, but he had no battle experience, the ninja waited for an opening and stepped in to dispatch the brat.

And his hand went sailing, the boy smiled, he had feinted at the right moment to draw his opponent in, and then disarmed him…pun intended.

"My hand!" the ninja howled "Why you little-"

He never finished, the wolf he had forgotten in the heat of battle had him pinned, razor sharp teeth scratching against the metal protecting his neck.

He felt something hard connect with the side of his head, and then all was black.

* * *

Naruto kicked the downed man in the head hard enough to send the man into lala land for a while, then turned to see how Sasuke had fared, there was a cut on his hand from grappling with the other one, who wore the same kind of gauntlet, but the man was down and bound with wire.

"I'd take care of that hand if I were you Sasuke" said the disembodied voice of Kakashi, making the two of them nearly jump out of their skins, he jumped out of a nearby tree with Tazuna and Sakura. "Their blades are known to be coated in poison."

Sasuke flinched and upended his pack. "AWW SHIT!" he howled "I FORGOT MY DAMN MED KIT"

He hurriedly pulled out a kunai and jabbed it into his hand, the blood flow effectively cleaning out the wound.

Sakura was calling herself many bad names inside her head. First sign of trouble, and guess what she did, froze, so scared she almost wet herself._ Look at Naruto _she thought _the moment there was even a hint of danger and he was all over Tazuna like white on rice, and Sasuke, stabbing himself in the hand to clean it out, and I choked…_she silently vowed to never back down again, no matter how scared she was, and if there was one thing Naruto and her father had taught her, it was to never go back on your word_ It's bad for business and worse for ninja, in an occupation where you can't be trusted by everyone else, you're allies are trusting their lives to those words._

"You dummy," she said, launching herself over to help him "you could have asked me or Naruto for some supplies, we're a team now."

"Oh… right, I forgot." he said with a smile.

She bent to inspect his hand "Hey! It's already scabbed over!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed _It can't be_ he said to himself as he watched her dress Sasuke's wound.

"Let's just get these guys bound and find out who they are." he said aloud.

"They're the Demon Brother's; rogue Mist ninja mid-level Chunin… much higher than a simple C-rank escort, what's going on here Tazuna?" Kakashi asked coldly.

"The hell if I know." he grumbled, Naruto was on him in a flash.

Tazuna found the point of a bloody sword under his chin disconcerting.

"My teammate and I just risked our lives to save your sorry drunken ass." Naruto growled "If you hide anything from us, my companion here-" he nodded at Minato, who growled menacingly at Tazuna, displaying very sharp teeth, "can smell it, and he'll tell me, and so help me if I don't say fuck the mission and leave your ass here with those two." he finished, pointing toward the Demon Brothers.

"Fine, I'll tell you, you damn brat. You've heard about Gato I presume?"

"The shipping magnate?" Naruto asked skeptically, earning a raised eyebrow from Kakashi.

Sakura cut in "Father runs all of Naruto's shipping businesses, gold trading mostly, but everywhere he goes, Gato keeps trying to push us out.

"Thirteen years old and running the family trading business, eh" Sasuke said "Mr. big shot."

"I've been doing it for six years." Naruto said casually.

Kakashi appraised his student again _he's a child prodigy, like Itachi…_

"Yeah, well, a couple years ago now, he moved into he land of Waves, and took over, most of his business is illegal, drugs, slaves, prostitution, he does it all, and he's established most of his warehouses and his headquarters in our country. What do you know about the land of Waves boy?"

"It's an island."

"Exactly, all of our supplies are imported, and Gato controls all the trading, we've gotten poorer and poorer while he benefits off our poverty."

"And you threaten him how?"

"I'm currently building a bridge that will connect us to the mainland, when it's finished, we won't need Gato and his shipping company, it's our one chance at gaining our country back."

"And he's bound to be paying top dollar to have you killed." Naruto said

Tazuna nodded, then turned to Kakashi "This is beyond your team, but I will tell you, what we paid is all we have, this is our one and only chance, if I fail, Gato will control us until the day he dies, and I would understand if you left me now, but I wouldn't make it home alive, with what he'll pay, It's not likely I'd last a week even if I did."

Kakashi nodded, "I've sent a messenger bird back to Konoha, they'll come and pick these two up and hopefully send some reinforcements, till then, the leaf ninja will honor our contract and see you home safely."

Naruto grunted and walked over to the bound would-be assailants, he wiped his sword clean on one's jacket and sheathed it. "Let's get moving then, every moment we're stationary is a moment we could have used to get Tazuna one step closer to finishing that bridge."

"O.K mister enthusiasm," Sasuke snorted "a second ago you wanted to kill him, now you wanna get that damn bridge up. You bi-polar or something?"

Naruto stopped and looked at his teammate with the same expression that was always plastered on Kakashi's face "Wave pearls look stunning with Uzumaki gold." he said, and began walking, Tazuna chuckled and Sakura giggled.

Sasuke just stared at his teammate, under his breath, he muttered "Selfish little bastard."

Minato growled behind him, and he took off in pursuit of the stoic blond.

* * *

Two weeks later.

The fog rolled in heavy from the mile stretch of deep water that separated the land of Wave from the mainland. Naruto frowned and turned to Kakashi.

"Sensei, I don't like this, with this fog everywhere, it'll be way too easy to run into an ambush."

"Blondie has a point." Sasuke put in "Unless you've got super vision."

Naruto's eyes narrowed "Careful Uchiha, Minato looks a little hungry."

Minato stared straight at Sasuke and licked his chops

"I'll give him a bone later." Sasuke shot back, eyes never leaving the wolf.

"It's all been arranged." Tazuna said as he began inspecting the sand, he bent down and pulled a small red seashell out of the sand. "This particular shell is only found on one place in the Five nations, a little cove on the north side of the island, where we will be dropped off by a fisherman who should be passing by shortly."

Not a minute later a boat paddled silently into view, a gaunt looking man in patched ragged clothing.

"Hurry" he said quietly, fatigue evident in even his voice. "I can't assure that I wasn't followed

"Thank you for taking the risk to help me." Tazuna said as he climbed aboard, the ninja following.

"It's the least I can do." the man replied "You're putting your neck out for all of us, anything I can do, I will."

"For starters, I would love to see my grandson, it's been too long." Tazuna said, picking up the other paddle.

The boat made good time, they made it to the cove just as the fog receded. The boat broke the sand and the ninja jumped out, warily searching the area.

"Something isn't right…" Sasuke muttered, his eyes searching for the source of this strange feeling.

Like he was being hunted…

Naruto stood tensely, his eyes darting for the source of malice that permeated the air. "I agree… There is something evil here, I can smell it." Minato growled in confirmation. Naruto silently reached into his pocket and pulled out his Ipod. Seether was played low, so he could still hear, he unsheathed his sword.

A deathly chuckle filled the cove, accompanied by a wave of bloodlust that almost put the genin on their knees, Sasuke tasted bile, Sakura couldn't breathe, and Naruto couldn't move.

"A little swordsman, how quaint." the voice said, and at the end of the cove, a man appeared, baggy dark gray pants and a pale complexion, masked, a sword as long as his body.

"Zabuza, one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist." Kakashi said from the boat.. He jumped forward, putting himself in between the man and his students.

"Former." Zabuza growled "I didn't like the work conditions."

"You're a traitor to your own village, traitors and cowards are worse than trash." Naruto growled, freed from his frozen state by a hard nip on the calf my his canine companion.

"Naruto, stay out of this!" Kakashi said harshly "This man is a Jounin, he's far stronger than any of you, remember your mission, protect Tazuna!"

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but caught himself at the look on Kakashi's face, he nodded and readied his sword.

It was up to the three of them if any other hostiles entered the fray.

"You don't have to worry about that, Kakashi of the Sharingan, I, like you, prefer to work alone." Zabuza growled. "I'll take you out and kill the kids next, then the old bag of skin will be last."

"Fat chance of that." Naruto shot at him, "I'll kill you before you touch a single hair on Tazuna's head."

Kakashi's hand moved toward his hitae-ate, "That's the spirit Naruto, but you won't have to, leave him to me, and if It looks like he's going to win, I want you to run. You get Tazuna out of here, all of you, and hide somewhere."

"Heh, heh, heh, where can they hide from me?" Zabuza chuckled, "I will find them wherever they go, and that bridge builder too."

Kakashi pulled up his headband revealing a long scar that stretched from above his eyebrow down his cheek, and his right eye was the color of blood, with three black dots.

"The Sharingan." Sasuke breathed.

"The Uchiha kekke genkai. How does he have it?" Naruto murmered, "That's what they meant by his eye."

Kakashi looked his opponent in the eye "Come on Zabuza, let's see if you have what it takes to beat me." he said, readying himself.

"Any day of the week." Zabuza growled, swinging his monstrous sword from his back.

The two Jounin rushed forward at speeds the three genin could barely follow. Kunai met sword and the two shot back a few feet before colliding again. Zabuza brought up his knee and Kakashi blocked with his own, bringing his left hand forward.

Zabuza rolled his sword and took the punch on the flat of the blade, then used the greater surface area to push Kakashi away and off balance, before charging him again. Kakashi back flipped and landed a hard kick under Zabuza's chin.

The ex-Mist ninja sailed upward making hand-signs rapidly, four clones appeared in the air beside him and he grabbed one in each hand before chucking them at Kakashi. He and the other two flipped around to land in a large tree before shooting towards their opponent.

Kakashi dispatched both clones thrown at him with ease, drenching himself with water as they dispelled. He shot towards the three Zabuza's in the tree as they rocketed toward him.

The battle was aerial for a few moments, Kakashi planted a kick to the stomach of one Zabuza, eyes narrowing as it exploded into a cascade of water. That clone propelled him upward to the other two, who were swinging their massive swords in tandem at his head. His hands shot toward his kunai pouches and two kunai buried themselves into the Mist ninja, both dead center.

Kakashi was greeted with twin bursts of H2O…

Zabuza chucked, "That eye of yours sure does get irritating, let me fix that little problem." he made a strange sign "Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Kakashi and his team were enveloped in a dense fog that covered everything. All around them reverberated the demonic chuckle of their opponent."

"Let's see you beat this Hatake."

He spun around and brought up a kunai just in time to block a vicious thrust that would have impaled him. He was launched backward over the water, rolling and bouncing across the surface like a skipped rock. He landed on all fours and was suddenly surrounded by a giant bubble of water.

"Heh, water prison jutsu, now you get to watch as my clones kill your precious students and that old fart."

There were sounds of battle; then an eerie silence reigned over the battlefield, broken only by the far off sounds of an IPOD _This means War…_

"NOT TODAY YOU COCKSUCKER!"

"WIND STYLE: GREAT BREAKTHROUGH!"

The two shouts came simultaneously, and a blast of wind shot in every direction, revealing the battlefield instantly.

Naruto stood a few feet in front of Tazuna and Sakura, Sasuke stood on the other side of a crouched Zabuza clone between them, Sasuke had a garrote wire held tight around it's neck while Naruto's sword was sticking through it's gut.

"Let Kakashi-sensei go, or I will kill you." Naruto growled, one headphone had popped out of his ear, blaring music.

_There's no way you will escape_

_No one ever gets away…_

* * *

AND FIVE IS DONE… not quite like the original anymore is it, mwahahaha! Pretty much everything from this point on will be all original, there will be some bits of canon that I will stick to, but the storyline now follows it's own unique curve… look forward to seeing how much ass Naruto and Sasuke just kicked in the next chapter, as well as more of the awesome song I had playing here and there. Till next time.


	6. Chapter 6

The Path I Walk

Chapter 6

Welcome back ladies and gentleman! Be prepared to be awed and amazed, for Naruto is about to embark on his first all out fight scene in this pretty little story! I am extremely excited, I can't wait! So with no more adieu…

* * *

Naruto watched as Kakashi launched Zabuza into the air, he watched the ex-Mist monster form a few water clones and the ensuing acrobatics.

He watched until Minato growled.

"Down!" he shouted, whirling around and grabbing Tazuna, throwing him to the ground. A huge sword whipped through where Tazuna and the genin's bodies had been just a second before as they whirled around to come face to face with a Zabuza clone.

"I'm going to kill all of you." the Zabuza clone growled.

Naruto shot forward, his sword ready, he brought it up and blocked a side-swipe from the huge sword, sliding a good ten feet.

Naruto growled and bent low for another charge, one of his headphones popping out, the song changed.

_There's blood on the gun_

_That's in your hand_

_And a murder in front of you…_

Sasuke tried a sweep kick on the giant and missed, but Naruto saw his opportunity and launched forward at him while he was in mid-air. Sword met sword and Naruto felt a powerful kick launch him backwards.

He got a glimpse of Kakashi and Zabuza standing about ten feet apart, and then suddenly the battlefield was shrouded in mist.

_Send out the wolves_

_The king is dead_

_Little pills taken over_

"We have you now." the Zabuza clone growled, turning to stop Sasuke's next attack.

He shot backwards at a momentous rate. He growled and created a shadow clone beside him. The clone grabbed his foot and used his momentum to spin him around and launch him back at his foe.

Sasuke was grappling with the giant as Minato nipped and its legs, Sakura grabbed Tazuna and pulled him a safe distance from the fight. Naruto prepared himself, he shot forward like a bullet, Zabuza brought his sword up, and Sasuke pulled on a little handle set on a small reel, pulling out a strand of garrote wire.

Naruto launched his sword at Zabuza and began rapid hand-signs

_This means war_

_Did the sun just burn out_

_Leaving you all alone_

Sasuke wrapped the garrote wire around Zabuza's neck, making sure the behemoth let go of his sword.

"NOT TODAY YOU COCKSUCKER!"

"WIND STYLE: GREAT BREAKTHROUGH!"

The blast of wind cleared the battlefield and gave more speed to Naruto's sword, sending it straight into the midsection of the Zabuza clone.

_Living in a wicked world_

_Living in a wicked world_

Naruto glared at the real Zabuza, who had Kakashi trapped in some type of water bubble. "Let Kakashi-sensei go, or I will kill you." he growled.

_There's no way you will escape_

_No one ever gets away_

"Hah!" Zabuza laughed, "You, kill me? Never in a million years, _boy" _

"We'll just see about that."

_Love was the fuel_

_That drove your sin_

_When the Majesty followed you_

Zabuza created two more clones. They chuckled and launched themselves at the two waiting genin.

Naruto and Sasuke stood side by side, Naruto grabbed his sword and prepared himself. "Should we take them together, or would you prefer I take the one on the left and you the one on the right?"

Sasuke huffed "Nah, this is what we'll do, I take the one on the right, you get the one on the left."

Naruto chuckled "Guess I'll take both then."

_The witches dance_

_The night begins_

_And the hearts taken over_

Naruto went low and Sasuke used his back as a springboard to launch himself into the air.

Naruto's sword met the clone's and they began a sinister dance in a circle, Naruto's speed with his smaller blade giving him an equal footing with the clone and it's giant zanbatou.

Sasuke was using his wire to try and tie up his clones hands and feet, but the sword kept getting in the way. "Aw, fuck it." he said as he used every bit of speed he could muster to wrap the clone up as best he could, pulling the wire taut and placing the end in his mouth he began a string of hand-signs and shot fire down the wire, immolating the clone.

_The royalty _

_Won't wash away_

_It's his scent that's inside of you_

Naruto pushed closer to the clone, trying to find an opening. He ducked a horizontal slash and launched a quick series of jabs, none found their mark. He jumped back out of the clone's range.

"Damn, he can use that toothpick." he growled to himself. He made a seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he cried, and eight Naruto's appeared in a cloud of smoke. He grinned "Time to get serious, monkey." he growled at the Zabuza clone, who glared at him.

_Off with her head_

_The queen she screams_

_Little pills taken over_

The Naruto's all jumped in different directions, eight surrounding the clone swords pointed at him, the last Naruto jumped onto the shoulder of another and shouted.

"Uzumaki Sword Art: Cage of Blades!"

Shouting, the eight Naruto's rushed at the clone, while the other jumped high into the air. The Zabuza clone jumped up to avoid being turned into a pincushion. Letting the eight Naruto's stab each other and dispel, only to feel the ninth and real Naruto's blade part it's body right between the eyes, it exploded in a burst of water and Naruto landed effortlessly. Minato padded to his side.

_This means war_

_Did the sun just burn out_

_Leaving you all alone_

"Very nice, but let's double the odds." Zabuza growled as four of his clones materialized in front of him.

Naruto sighed "You just don't get the hint do you?"

"I think he's just pissed that we can kick his ass." Sasuke added.

Minato yipped, and Naruto stared at the wolf, dumbfounded. "Holy shit." he breathed.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Hell's froze over, he agrees with you."

_Living in a wicked world_

_Living in a wicked world_

_There's no way you will escape_

_No one ever gets away_

Naruto made a hand-sign and twelve clones appeared in smoke. "I'll get these, you try and get to Zabuza, if we're going to get rid of this guy, we need Kakashi-sensei."

"And let you have all the fun?" Sasuke pouted.

"What are you bitching about? You get the real one." Naruto growled as three of his clones moved to engage a Zabuza clone.

Sasuke nodded "Good point, and I have an idea, lets get rid of these guys first though."

_Living in a wicked world_

_Living in a wicked world_

_It's a wicked world_

Naruto and Sasuke launched themselves at one of the clones, Kunai and Ninjato clashed against zanbatou and the combatants were launched in three different directions. The two genin righted themselves and shot at the clone at full speed, they clashed again, and as Naruto toppled backwards, his sword slipped from his hand.

"Haha! What will you do now, little swordsman?" the Zabuza clone chuckled, kicking Naruto's sword behind him. "You no longer have yours, and I still have mine."

Naruto unzipped the sides of his pants and grasped the hilts of the tanto he had sheathed there. He gripped the two daggers and readied himself. "This is what I'll do, you ready?"

"Born ready midget."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Sasuke, go help my clones, this one's mine."

Sasuke nodded and went to a group of clones fighting another Zabuza.

Naruto launched himself at the clone, who brought his sword down quickly, Naruto dodged to the side and shot behind it, he spun and launched the daggers at the clone's back, making rapid hand-signs and shooting a blast of wind to propel the blades even faster.

They hit home and the clone burst in a torrent of water, Naruto picked up his daggers and sheathed them, zipping up the sides of his pants. "That'll teach you to call me a midget."

_Won't somebody save me_

_Somebody save me_

_Somebody save me…_

The song ended and he plucked out the other earpiece, putting the IPOD away. He turned and surveyed the scene.

Sasuke had dispatched one of the other water clones, and a troop of Naruto's had corralled the other two. He picked up his sword and suddenly grinned.

"All right Sasuke." he said as he walked over to his teammate. "I believe this idea could work."

Sasuke smirked and pulled a large folding shuriken out of his backpack. "Then what are we waiting for?"

The two Genin rushed to the water's edge and threw their weapons with all their might. Zabuza laughed until he noticed both performing rapid handsigns. His eyes narrowed as both Naruto and Sasuke shouted the same thing.

"WIND STYLE: GREAT BREAKTHROUGH!"

The two projectiles were hit with a massive blast of wind that was actually parting the water around it; increasing their speed tenfold. He barely had time to dodge them he chuckled as he turned his gaze to the Genin on shore.

Naruto looked at him and chuckled, Sasuke's image faded out to be replaced by another Naruto. "Behind you asshole." was all Naruto said.

The Shuriken vanished in a cloud of smoke and was replaced by the real Naruto, and his sword was replaced with Sasuke, whom Naruto grabbed by the heel and launched back at Zabuza, hands forming rapid signs before shouting.

"FIRE STYLE: GREAT FIREBALL JUTSU!"

Zabuza had two choices, release his jutsu and evade, or be roasted to a crisp. He pulled his arm free of the ball of water and jumped to a branch not too far away from his position.

Naruto made a few clones to throw himself back to shore and stood by his teammate and sensei, eyes never leaving the rogue ninja in a tree fifty or so feet away and about thirty feet up.

"You got the jump on me little swordsman." the ex-Mist nin growled "It won't happen again."

"Of course it won't." Kakashi said, his Sharingan never leaving the man in the tree. "Your fight is with me."

The two Jounin jumped at each other at speeds unimaginable. Kunai again clashed with sword again and again, but Kakashi was pulling out all the stops, and his Sharingan was reading Zabuza's every move flawlessly.

The two ninja shot away from each other and Zabuza began throwing every water jutsu he knew at the copy ninja; who was unleashing the same moves back at him. Zabuza prepared for a final jutsu and began the signs for an extremely complicated and powerful water jutsu. His hands were moving so fast that the genin on shore couldn't even see them.

Across from him, Kakshi was making the same signs, but somehow he was making them faster, and the next thing Zabuza knew, a huge dragon made entirely of water was rushing at him.

"HOW?" he roared as the massive dragon crashed into him like a tidal wave, he felt a few of his ribs break and then something crack as he was thrown into a tree.

"The Sharingan sees everything." Kakashi replied, "I have seen your fate Zabuza Momochi, former swordsman of the Hidden Mist Village, you die here and now."

Zabuza was about to reply when suddenly from the trees to the left, two needles shot forward and buried themselves into his neck. There was a brief look of surprise on Zabuza's face, and then he fell forward, dead.

The three genin and their sensei turned towards the trees and sure enough, up on a higher branch, was a young ninja in a porcelain mask.

"Thank you for your assistance," the ninja said as it jumped down from it's perch. "I have been hunting Zabuza-san for a very long time."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. The voice was gender neutral, but judging by the pitch and the ninja's size, whoever it was couldn't be older than he was, and he just took out Zabuza like it was nothing.

"Who the fuck are you?" Sasuke snarled, and if you've been looking for this bastard for so long, why didn't ya help out earlier when we were getting our asses kicked?"

"Be quiet Sasuke-san!" Kakashi said sternly, "This ninja is a hunter nin from Mist village, Zabuza is his responsibility."

The hunter nin grabbed Zabuza's body and nodded to the Leaf ninja before bounding off into the woods.

"That was no hunter ninja." Naruto said, his eyes still fixed in the direction the ninja had left.

"What makes you say that blondie?" Sasuke asked with a glare at his teammate.

"Hunter ninja's are supposed to destroy the body on-site, they don't carry the body away…" Kakashi said, also staring in that direction. "I fear we have just met Zabuza's accomplice, and I don't think that's the last we'll be seeing of them either."

Sasuke and Sakura groaned. Naruto's fists clenched.

"He was strong wasn't he?" he asked Kakashi.

"Naruto-san, there are ninja in this world younger than you, and stronger than me." was Kakashi's reply, "Now, how about-"

Kakashi didn't finish his sentence, instead he hit the ground like a sack of potato's. "Argh, damn it." he mumbled, "I overused my Sharingan."

"Are you all right sensei?" Sakura asked sheepishly.

"I'll be fine, let's just get to Tazuna's."

* * *

Two Days Later

"Kakashi-sensei! Are you ready yet, you said you were going to train us today!" Sakura hollered at the closed door of Kakashi's room.

The copy ninja had suffered from chakra exhaustion and had been bedridden for a day and a half, when he had woken up yesterday, he had promised his team some training so that they could hold their own if Zabuza and his accomplice decided to attack again.

The door slid open and Kakashi stepped out on a crutch. "Get the boys and meet me in the woods behind the house and we'll see what I can teach you." he said.

"Hai Sensei!" she said and took off downstairs to get her teammates, who were squabbling at each other across the table, breakfast piled high on each plate.

"I tell you Optimus Prime is the shit! I mean, look, he took on four Decepticons and Megatron only killed him 'cause of a cheap shot!" Sasuke growled.

"Yeah, but how many times did Sam have to save his ass through those movies! He's a freaking pansy." Naruto replied.

"All right then, who's the most kick ass transformer?" Sasuke shot at him.

"None of them." Sakura cut in as she rounded the corner into the kitchen. "Hurry up and finish eating, Sensei is ready to start training.

The two boys wolfed down the rest of their breakfast and followed their teammate to the designated training area, where Kakashi was leaning up against a tree.

"All right now children, today, I'm going to teach you how to climb trees…" He began.

"LAME!" the boys shouted; cutting him off.

"…without using your hands." he finished, walking up the side of the tree he had been leaning on.

Naruto smirked, "Been there, done that Sensei." he said, casually walking up a tree nex to him with his hands in his pockets.

Kakashi's eyebrow shot up. "Oh really… hmm how about you two?" he asked his other charges.

Sakura was sitting on a tree branch some forty feet high, Sasuke was twenty feet in the air, standing upside down on a tree branch.

Kakashi nodded absently, "It seems you all already know this technique, did you know you can use it to walk on water?"

Naruto yawned his affirmative.

"Hai Sensei!" Sakura said from her seat.

"Hmph! Piece of cake." Sasuke grunted.

"Well, that speeds things along, do any of you know your affinity?"

"Our what?" the three said in unison.

"Each ninja has an elemental affinity." Kakashi explained. "There are five elements most jutsu use, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind and Lightning. When a ninja learns a jutsu, how easy they learn it is based off of their affinity. It is more difficult for a ninja with a Water affinity to master a Fire jutsu than a ninja with a Fire affinity."

"How do you figure out which affinity you have?" Sakura asked, hopping down to join her teammates, who had already made it back to the ground.

Kakashi pulled three small squares of paper out of his vest. "With these." he said; handing one to each genin. "Channel some chakra into it and the paper reacts in five different ways, showing you your affinity."

The three genin channeled their chakra into the papers. Naruto's split in half, Sakura's crumbled to dust, and Sasuke's burned to ashes on one side, and the other side crumpled up.

"Ah, so Naruto, your affinity is Wind. Considering the fact you're an Uzumaki, it's no surprise. Sakura, you seem to have an affinity for Earth. Sasuke, you have a double affinity, both Lightning and Fire."

Sasuke smirked. "That's good right?"

Kakashi smiled. "No affinity is better than the others, and each one can counter another, but my own affinity is Lightning, so I have several jutsu I'll be able to teach you." he said, "Not that you two aren't going to be getting some training as well. Naruto, you're already past the beginning stages of learning to control your affinity. And Sakura, I have some great low level Earth jutsu that I can teach you."

Naruto cocked his head. "What do you mean Sensei?"

Remember the test I gave you, when you opened up the match with that technique…I didn't catch it's name."

"Uzumaki Sword Art: Wind Hammer." Naruto said.

"Yes _WIND_ Hammer." Kakashi said, emphasizing wind. "You channeled chakra into your blade, and if I'm correct, that's not the only sword technique you know that does that."

Naruto's lips thinned. "No, it isn't."

"My point exactly. That is the first step to mastering your affinity, the next is learning to channel it _without _weapons."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You know more about the Uzumaki's than you let on, don't you Kakashi-sensei?"

"My teammate Rin was an Uzumaki." Kakashi replied. "Now I see why you use your sword more than your fists. You have no idea how to perform the katas."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"He's wondering about my taijutsu skills. No sensei, I haven't yet fully learned the Uzumaki taijutsu." Naruto said. "I didn't think my sword training had any connection with my affinity. How do I progress?" he asked.

Kakashi picked a leaf from a nearby tree and handed it to Naruto. "Channel your chakra and cut that leaf in half, once you can, we'll get to work on your taijutsu."

Kakashi turned to Sakura. "As for you, little konoichi; the best I can do is give you some jutsu and begin strength training with you. We need to build up your muscle and chakra reserves."

"And me?" Sasuke asked.

"Speed training, a lot of it, with lightning jutsu, you want to be fast, real fast." Kakashi replied, he reached into his vest and pulled out a set of weights. "Tie these on your ankles and give me fifty laps around Tazuna's house. When you don't notice the weight in these, we'll go up in size."

Sasuke took the weights and nearly fell forward. "GODDAMN!" he shouted, "These fuckers are heavy!"

"Get used to them, and when you don't notice their weight anymore, see how much faster you'll have become." Kakashi said. He made three shadow clones and sent one with Sasuke. He pulled out another set of weights and handed them to Sakura. "Put these on your arms and then spar with one of my clones. This will be your new training regimen for the next few weeks."

He sent the other clone off to oversee Naruto and walked back up his tree to a comfortable branch and sat down.

"What're you going to be doing Sensei?" she asked; and was answered with a few giggles as she caught a flash of his favorite orange book. She shook her head and began sparring with his clone. "Pervert." she grumbled.

* * *

And Six is done! I must say, the fight scene did give me a bit of trouble, and it does seem a bit rushed near the end, but I thought the canon ending to that fight was all right, so why change what works right; I just wasn't going to go verbatim on it. Most of it was original, and you didn't expect Kakashi to be a somewhat motivated teacher did ya? Yeah, I'm not gonna let team 7 take it lying down in this fic. No team dynamic, but each is going to be a little bit more powerful than their manga counterparts. Any questions or comments, slip em' to me in a PM or a simple review…the button for that one's just right there, go on, it doesn't bite.

Till next time.


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